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NATO members sign protocols for Albania, Croatia
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-07-09 23:26 "Today, Albania and Croatia have begun the final stage. And I hope that, if all goes right ... they will be able to cross the finish line, the very end of their road, together at our summit next April in Strasbourg and Kehl," he said. The NATO chief said he did not foresee any problems with the ratification process. "As of today, the ratification process can begin in the 26 NATO parliaments. I am very confident that they will agree that these countries have proven their democratic credentials, and that they are in a position to further the goals of this alliance," he said. De Hoop Scheffer also reiterated NATO's open-door policy toward other European countries, particularly Macedonia. "Today's ceremony will not be the last of its kind. The door of NATO remains open to other democracies who are ready and willing to foster the goals of the Washington Treaty and shoulder the responsibilities of membership," he told the meeting. Macedonia, which was expected to be invited to join NATO alongside Albania and Croatia at the bloc's summit in April in the Romanian capital Bucharest, was left behind as the country failed to solve a dispute over its name with Greece. Greece, a NATO member country, blocked the invitation to Macedonia over fears that the former Yugoslav republic's constitutional name -- Republic of Macedonia -- implied territorial ambitions for the neighboring northern Greek province of Macedonia. NATO leaders agreed that an invitation would be extended immediately after the dispute is resolved. |
