Enlargement of NATO

United States Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison said July 8 that Russia appeared to be trying to "flip" Turkey, a key member of the alliance, in a bid to undermine and destabilize NATO.

Macedonia's parliament on Thursday ratified the agreement with Greece for a second time and with the same ratio of MPs.

Once again, 69 of the 120 MPs voted in favour of the agreement while one abstained. No MPs voted against as the entire opposition bloc, led by  the former ruling VMRO DPMNE party, boycotted the session.

Amid claims that it no longer has a place in the Western defense alliance, Turkey is preparing for a greater role in the new NATO strategy expected to be approved in the NATO summit in Brussels on July 11-12.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg voiced confidence June 19 that Alliance members will demonstrate unity at a summit next month despite "important differences" between the United States and European members of the transatlantic Alliance.

NATO's dialogue with Russia is "not great" but needed, James Appathurai, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, said in an interview with AGERPRES.

"You saw what (Macedonian) Prime Minister Zaev said, an agreement between Macedonia and Greece is almost there, and they expect an invitation for NATO, and almost all other countries are already in NATO or going there," the leader of the opposition DS said during a security conference held in Montenegro, Beta reported, quoting the party.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said Turkey has the right to fight against the organizers of the 2016 coup attempt, adding that the country has a professional army with dedicated officers. 

He said that despite Russia's opposition to the expansion of the Western military alliance, "NATO's doors remain open."

Russia doesn't support the expansion of NATO in Europe, said Mrs.Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko, a Russian politician serving as the Senator from Saint Petersburg and Chairwoman of the Federation Council since 2011. The Russian Chairwoman arrived in Bosnia on Monday.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called on all allies to provide more support to Turkey, ahead of his official visit to the country scheduled for April 16 with the purpose of preparing the upcoming NATO summit in Brussels in July.