RUSSIA, AGAIN, CREATES DIVIDING LINES IN NORTH MACEDONIA

On 27.03.2020 North Macedonia became the 30th member of the Alliance when it deposited its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the US State Department in Washington DC. “This is a historic moment for North Macedonia. It comes after years of perseverance, determination, and commitment to reform. In the best spirit of the Alliance, and through political courage and vision, North Macedonia and Greece reached a historic compromise over the name issue”, said Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and added that the Prespa agreement made this accession possible. Stoltenberg further explained that the agreement contributed to “good neighborly relations and a brighter future for North Macedonia”.

The quest for NATO membership began In 1993 when Macedonian Parliament adopted Resolution for the accession of the country to NATO alliance, supported by all parliamentary parties.  In 1995,  the country joined the alliance’s Partnership for Peace program. The formal membership path was initiated at the 1999 Washington Summit together with other former Soviet bloc members, notably the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which sets out reform plans and timelines in an Annual National ProgramAt the Brussels Summit in July 2018, Allies welcomed the historic agreement between Athens and Skopje on the solution of the name issue and invited the government in Skopje to begin accession talks to join NATO. They also urged further progress on important reforms before and after accession. The Allies signed the Accession Protocol on 6 February 2019 and the Accession Protocol was subsequently ratified by each of the 29 Allies according to national procedures and finally, North Macedonia became a full member of the Alliance when the Instrument of Accession was deposited in Washington D.C. on 27 March 2020.

“This is a historic moment that belongs to all the citizens of our country and visionaries who have worked hard over the past three decades to realize the idea of ​​a safer and more prosperous homeland.” Our country’s membership in NATO is taking place in extraordinary circumstances when the world and humanity are facing perhaps the greatest global challenge since World War II. Due to these conditions, the act of celebrating the event is modest, but it in no way diminishes the historical significance of this success, “said Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov.

“This is a historic success that, after three decades of independence, finally confirms our security and guarantees our future.” Congratulations! We deserved this, “said Macedonian President Stevo Pendarovski.

However critical statements by the press service of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs were issued on 31.March 2020 stressing that the entry of Northern Macedonia into NATO took place on a tragic anniversary for the Balkans or more precisely NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.  The document also criticized that the accession of North Macedonia to NATO does not bear any added value of either regional or European national security. “Such a move will definitely not contribute to combining efforts to combat common threats and challenges, including the coronavirus pandemic. It will only create new dividing lines.”

In contrast to this statement is the fact that joining NATO has always been the strategic determination of the country since independence, willing to actively participate in the development of wider security architecture within the Euro-Atlantic region. As far as the future of NATO is concerned, North Macedonia’s s view is that NATO is a solid guarantee for global European security and stability and it is a foundation for the new European security architecture. During the Coronavirus crises, while all Allies were and still are affected by the crisis, some were able to reallocate resources in order to help others in need, including North Macedonia. North Macedonia requested assistance through NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) for surgical masks, protective suits, and other equipment on 30 March. The NATO center passed the requests on to NATO Allies and partners, who provide assistance on a bilateral basis. The EADRCC is NATO’s principal disaster response mechanism. It operates on a 24/7 basis, coordinating requests from NATO Allies and partners, as well as offers of assistance to cope with the consequences of major crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In bilateral aid, Hungary provided 100,000  protective masks and 5,000 protective suits to North Macedonia, and Slovenia provided 100,000 surgical masks and 100,000 protective masks. Through an international donation from the Netherlands to the International Atomic Energy Agency, North Macedonia will receive additional COVID-19 test kits. The U.S. Government has committed $1.1 million to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak in North Macedonia. Through this assistance, it will support several initiatives, including large-scale testing of COVID-19 and infection prevention and control. Norway has also donated medical supplies to North Macedonia (worth 180 000 Euro) which will be shipped from the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA). North Macedonia is currently using a field hospital donated by Norway, allowing it to double the capacity at the Infectious Disease Clinic at Skopje’s largest hospital in the combat against Covid-19. For that reason, it could be concluded that Russia is again trying to divide the population in North Macedonia, and this time using the crises of deadly coronavirus.

The diplomatic department of Russia further criticized that so far no clear justification has been given for the necessity of joining the alliance of Northern Macedonia. “The local population is promised economic growth, increasing investment attractiveness, strengthening the rule of law. But for this it is not necessary to join the military-political bloc,” the Russian Foreign Ministry added. At the same time, the department noted that Skopje is already required to increase the volume of purchases of Western weapons and equipment, as well as defense spending. “This is the price that the Macedonian people will have to pay for renouncing sovereignty in the military-political field and not only,” the ministry said.

In contrast to this statement is the fact that individual liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule of law are the values at the heart of NATO’s transatlantic bond and every member country, no matter how large or small, has an equal say in discussions and decisions. Member countries make direct and indirect contributions to the costs of running NATO and implementing its policies and activities. The possibilities offered by this union are multidimensional and include benefits in terms of security, military development, crisis management, and economics. Joining NATO will introduce the most modern military standards in the country that will contribute to the military and strengthening security, and will also contribute economically through the accessibility of high technology by developed NATO member states. The country will gradually rise safer, and thus will be a reliable ground for future investment and economic development. The Global Peace Ranking Index as a Useful and Methodologically Based Calculation Tool at the security risk of the countries, clearly shows that 15 NATO member states are among the top 30 best ranked in the world according to GPI.
NATO does not only mean security and military training, but also development, a new labor market, and a new market for our companies. For example, NATO has many programs for public diplomacy, research, and development in which students, the civil society, and universities can participate. Possessing a “NATO standard” means that our companies will have access to a larger market in NATO member states for which they can provide services and products.  For that reason, it could be concluded that North Macedonia as a NATO member will expect economic growth and stability as well as straightening the rule of law.

Moscow also drew attention that NATO is far from providing reliable protection to the alliance members, but they even can not stop long-standing disputes between them and they learned to skillfully sweep them under the carpet.

In contrary to this statement is the fact that the greatest responsibility of the Alliance is to protect and defend NATO’s territory and populations. Article 5 of NATO’s founding charter, the Washington Treaty, sets out the Alliance’s collective defense commitment. It states that an attack on one shall be considered an attack on all.  Since Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the rise of security challenges from the south, including brutal attacks by ISIL and other terrorist groups across several continents, NATO has implemented the biggest increase in collective defense since the Cold War. For instance, it has tripled the size of the NATO Response Force, established a 5,000-strong Spearhead Force, and deployed multinational battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. NATO has also increased its presence in the southeast of the Alliance, centered on a multinational brigade in Romania. The Alliance has further stepped up air policing over the Baltic and the Black Sea areas and continues to develop key military capabilities, such as Joint Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance. At the Warsaw Summit in July 2016, Allies recognized cyber defense as a new operational domain, to enable better protection of networks, missions and operations; and at the meeting of foreign ministers in November 2019, Allies agreed to recognize space as a new operational domain to “allow NATO planners to make requests for Allies to provide capabilities and services, such as hours of satellite communications.”

Further, the statement concluded that: “We expect Skopje to confirm in accordance with the established procedure for assuming obligations of the North Atlantic Alliance according to documents signed with Russia, in particular, the Founding Act of 1997 and the Rome Declaration of 2002.”  Therefore, North Macedonia is also expecting that Moscow will establish a procedure for assuming obligations according to the Founding Act of 1997 and the Rome Declaration 2002. In this manner the country is expecting that Russia will work as a NATO partner, developing the concept of joint NATO-Russia peacekeeping operations.

It could be concluded that joining NATO was finally achieving one of the strategic orientations of the country since independence in 1991. “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, the members are all stronger and safer together”. NATO not only helps to defend the territory of its members but engages where possible and when necessary to project its values further afield, prevent crises, manage crises, stabilize post-conflict situations, and support reconstruction.  NATO membership is important to North Macedonia because as a small country with limited resources for defense and security, the country needs to be part of a system of collective security. On the other hand, Russia’s main interest in the countries of former Yugoslavia, in general, and in Northern Macedonia, in particular, is behaving and acting as a counterweight to The West. Moscow does not have a positive agenda but uses every opportunity to opposite the West. The Kremlin cannot spend the already insufficient financial resources in the region, so for that reason cannot send troops to have a share in security issues in the Balkans. For that reasons, North Macedonia is finally part of the NATO family becoming the 30 member of the alliance on a ceremony which was modest due to coronavirus conditions, but at the same time represented the victory of a near 30 years determination of the country achieving one of the main strategic orientation since independence.