North Macedonia “openly supports” Georgia’s NATO membership

North Macedonia’s President Stevo Pendarovski on Wednesday said his country “openly supports the bid of Georgians to enter NATO'', adding he could not see “any reasonable ground, any reasonable argument” why the country would be prevented from obtaining membership.

Pendarovski stressed in his doorstep statement at the NATO Summit in Madrid the alliance’s open-door policy had been its “best policy” throughout the decades, noting the bloc should “hold the doors open for everybody” with aspirations to become a member.

“We are openly supporting the bid of Georgians to enter NATO as we are fully aligned with other allies in supporting their membership bid for other countries from the so-called Eastern Partnership of the European Union”, the President said.

NATO leaders meeting in Madrid are set to sign off on key decisions, including a new Strategic Concept, a major strengthening of NATO’s deterrence and defence, and greater support to Ukraine. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili  is participating in the Summit.