Jens Stoltenberg

While leaders in Brussels, Washington and the region have showered praise on the agreement between neighbouring Macedonia and Greece over Macedonia's name, the deal has met a cold response from opposition parties back home.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg welcomed on Tuesday the deal achieved between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on the latter's name, calling it "historic."

"I warmly welcome the agreement reached between Prime Ministers Tsipras and [Zoran] Zaev on a solution to the name dispute between Athens and Skopje," he said in a statement following news of the agreement.

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.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on June 6 said he welcomed a Turkish-U.S. agreement on a road map for the northern Syrian city of Manbij foreseeing the removal of the People's Protection Units (YPG) from the area. 

As the Montenegrin government marks the first anniversary of NATO membership with a celebration in the royal capital Cetinje on Tuesday, for the large community of ethnic Serbs in the country, joining the alliance is still seen as an illegal decision that was imposed on them without a vote.

The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) on Wednesday called on NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to  respond to Turkey's provocations toward fellow Alliance member countries.

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) will be formally invited to join the NATO alliance if Athens and Skopje reach a settlement on the name dispute, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said.

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. 

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has reiterated Turkey's importance to the joint defense of the alliance, saying a look at the map is enough to recognize the country's value, amid rising criticism of Turkish actions in the media and in Western capitals.

Greece and Turkey need to address their differences on a bilateral level and in a spirit of good neighborly relations, the head of NATO alliance of which both countries are member has said.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was speaking to Greece's Ta Nea daily during an official visit in The Hague.