Macedonia officially asked, on Tuesday, to join NATO on the occasion of the NATO Summit held this April in Bucharest, by invoking the risks the country might be exposed to if the separatist province Kosovo declares its independence. "As a neighboring country of Serbia and Kosovo-Metohia, Macedonia will definitely be among the first countries to experience the impact, be it positive or negative, of the finalization of the statute of Kosovo" wrote the Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski in a letter addressed to the NATO members.
The Skopje leader insisted that joining NATO has major importance to his country, in the context of "the process of finalization of Kosovo statute, process bearing certain risks that must not be under any circumstances underestimated".
On the other hand, Macedonia fears that its intent of entering NATO will be blocked by Greece, because of the conflict concerning the official name of the country that opposes the two states since 1991. Greece has been blocking, since 1991, the international recognition of Macedonia under this denomination, considering it belongs exclusively to its own national patrimony. Athens also threatened that it will use its veto right in order to block a possible invitation of Macedonia to join NATO at the Bucharest Summit. For now, Macedonia is recognized by UN under the provisional name of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).  (Source: Rador)