Stoltenberg

North Macedonia on Friday officially became the 30th member of the NATO military alliance.

"North Macedonia is now part of the NATO family, a family of 30 nations and almost 1 billion people. A family based on the certainty that, no matter what challenges we face, we are all stronger and safer together," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement. [AP]
 

Turkey on March 17 congratulated North Macedonia on its accession to NATO.

"#NorthMacedonia's accession to @NATO has been ratified by all Allies. Congratulations my friend @Dmitrov_Nikola, welcome to the Alliance!," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Twitter.

North Macedonia on Tuesday cleared the final hurdle to becoming the 30th member of the NATO military alliance after the Spanish Senate ratified its accession.

Spain's office at NATO said that 259 of the 264 senators endorsed the move. The bill was immediately signed by King Felipe and will be submitted to the US State Department for official confirmation within the next 72 hours.

However, Russia's attack has compromised Erdogan's attempt to portray Turkey as a regional power. In addition, Arab countries have joined the US policy in Syria and have left Erdogan out in the cold.

Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar will attend a meeting of the NATO defense ministers in Brussels on Feb. 12-13, the country's Defense Ministry said on Feb. 11.

Akar will also hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts, the ministry said in a statement.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg assured today that the upcoming major US military exercise in Europe is not aimed at Russia, AFP reported.

Exercise "Defender-Europe 20" will be the largest American transatlantic military deployment in 25 years.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Jan. 21 Turkey is crucial in the fight against ISIL.

"No ally has suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkey. They are important in the fight against Daesh. They are the only ally which is bordering Syria and Iraq," he said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIL.

Stoltenberg's remarks came during a speech at the European Parliament in Brussels.

If the North Atlantic Treaty Organization considers that a more intense involvement against terrorism is important, Romania will participate, said Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, on Thursday, at the NATO headquarters.

Prime Minister Ludovic Orban on Thursday, the last day of his working visit to Brussels, has scheduled meetings with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. In the first half of the day, Orban will have talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, followed by joint press statements.

This happened after the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in a US missile strike in Baghdad.