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NATOâ€™s attempt to the East - Analysis

NATOâ€™s attempt to the East <font color=red>- Analysis </font>

14 March 2008 11:35 (UTC +04:00)

Bucharest. Dr. Fakhri Karimli â€“ APA. The summit of North Atlantic Alliance in the first week of April is expected to clear up a number of issues. There are certainly issues that interest Azerbaijan. One of them is NATO expansion to the East.

The process, the name of which resembles â€œDrang nach Ostenâ€ (German for "Drive towards the East") cannot only clarify the fate of Western Balkans, but also open a new stage for the countries in other coasts of the Black Sea. The alliance, which got an access to the western coast of the Black Sea after the admission of Romania and Bulgaria to NATO in 2003, intends to fill the gaps in the Balkans with this summit. After that, attention can be paid to the post-Soviet space, which is considered the influence area of Russia.
Only this point demonstrates the importance of Bucharest summit, because for the first time in the history one of the Euro-Atlantic bodies has almost completed the integration of European states and reached the geographical borders of former USSR (except three former Yugoslavia republics). Taking into account that NATO route is pursued by the European Union, we can witness that one stage has come to an end and the other has started in the history of international relations.
But much time is left. Membership hopes of Croatia and Albania to NATO are on the agenda at present. The meeting of foreign ministers of NATO member states held in Brussels on March 6 made more exact that both Tirana and Zagreb would be invited for the membership. The fate of Macedonia, the third candidate country, depends on the dispute with Greece over the official name of the state. In the Brussels meeting, a number of countries, including the US, Netherlands, Slovenia and Turkey stated that the three members of Adriatic Charter had fulfilled the requirements for membership. No concrete decision was passed at the meeting and NATO Foreign Ministers noted the necessity of completing some issues in Bucharest summit.
Adriatic troikaâ€™s NATO prospects have a special importance regarding policy pursued by Athens.
Greece supports candidacy of Albania and Croatia, but it approaches to Macedonia differently. Foreign Minister of Greece Dora Bakoyanni reconfirmed this position on this issue at press conference.
â€œI stated to our allies that our position on Macedonia would remain unchanged,â€ she said.
Athensâ€™s decision is decisive for Skopje .The document envisages adoption of all decisions consensually. Greekâ€™s veto right impedes Macedoniaâ€™s integration into NATO. NATO is also anxious about the situation. NATO Secretary General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer noted last week that the situation was not expected to change.
â€œThere is our ally Greece in one side and Macedonia, which is not our ally in other side. NATO is a body that works consensually,â€ he said.
Croatia and Albaniaâ€™s integration into NATO is received as a victory by political parties and society. There are big differences between the two countries. Croatia is more developed country than Albania. Macedonia is despondent about the situation. Itâ€™s been published in 20 popular newspapers of the country that Macedonia deserves membership of NATO.
What is the reason of prevention of Macedoniaâ€™s integration into NATO? Macedonia was distributed between Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece during Balkan wars in 1912-13.
Athens put down SLavian Macedonians for the Slavianized Greeks, but Sofia sees to them as the Bulgarian ethnic group. Only Josip Broz Tito, founder of socialist Yugoslavia accepted this population as a nation and declared Vardar Macedonia as one of six federation subjects titled â€œMacedonian Socialist Republicâ€ in 1946. Macedonian Republic, which declared its independence in 1990s after the fall of Yugoslavia, has faced Greeceâ€™s comprehensive pressure since early independence. Athens saw Macedoniaâ€™s name as a territorial claim due its same titled province and through the Greek efforts Macedonia joined UN under the title of â€œFormer Yugoslavian Republic of Macedoniaâ€ as a compromise alternative. However Macedonia has been recognized by 118 countries, including Russia, China, USA, Great Britain and Turkey under its constitutional name, but Athensâ€™ obstinacy threatens Skopjeâ€™s NATO and EU prospects.
Macedonia included special article in its Constitution that it has no territorial claims to any country for softening of the Greeceâ€™s position, even changing official flag coincided with the symbol of ancient Macedonia. However Greek political leaders insist on the 1992 radical pact demanding to change Macedoniaâ€™s title. US diplomacy is making serious efforts to solve the problem. Deputy Secretary of State Daniel Fried recently visited Skopje and met with President Branko Crvenkovski and Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. â€œNATO welcomes Macedonia, but we should solve a title problemâ€. James Appathurai, NATO Spokesman said Greece wanted all three countries to join NATO all together. â€œIt is clear recipe of longstanding stability in Balkans is only Euro-Atlantic integrationâ€. /APA-Analysis/.