Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Radmila Šekerinska launched her official visit to the United States by taking part in a round table organized by the American Atlantic Council on the topic “The Balkans and NATO membership through the prism of Macedonia: High stakes in terms of global security and the fate of democracy in a small country “.
Šekerinska talked about the Balkans and the challenges it has faced in the past, the political crisis in Macedonia and the new reform processes, as well as the return of the country on its path to Euro-Atlantic integration.
“In these 10 months we have seriously focused on domestic reforms and on improving good neighborly relations. We focused on issues at the heart of Euro-Atlantic integration – free media, rule of law, interethnic relations and institutional resilience. We ask you to support Macedonia to receive an invitation to join NATO this year, because such a breakthrough can have a positive impact, which will create a new hope in the Balkans”, said the minister.
Turning to the events in Parliament that occured on the present day last year, Šekerinska said that last April, Macedonia “reached rock bottom”.
“The incident could have completely spun out of control and threatened to take the country a step closer to civil war. We had formed a majority in Parliament and everyone expected a new, reform-oriented government to be elected, and the people who wanted to stay in power saw that violence was their only way of staying. Fortunately the attempt was unsuccessful”, she said.
The Brdo-Brijuni process was first held in 2013 on a joint initiative of the presidents of the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Croatia, in Brdo near Kranj, Slovenia.