N. Macedonia hopes for NATO accession ratification in March, president says

President Stevo Pendarovski expects the procedure of ratification needed for North Macedonia’s membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to be completed next month.

“If everything goes to plan concerning the political process, around March 10 that process should finish. There will remain some technical details that our parliament in Skopje will have to deal with,” Pendarovski told reporters on Tuesday during his visit to Poland.

The last NATO member state that needs to ratify the accession is Spain and Pendarovski said he expected that Madrid will be ready to do so next month.

NATO countries signed an accord last year allowing the ex-Yugoslav republic to become the 30th member of the US-led military alliance. The move became possible after a deal with Greece ended a long dispute over its name. Macedonia changed its name to North Macedonia.