Russia against Macedonia's NATO membership

[Crn Volk]

http://www.focus-fen.net/news/2014/1...embership.html


Utrinski vesnik: Russia against Macedonia’s NATO membership
2 October 2014 | 09:30 | FOCUS News Agency


Skopje. Macedonia is seized with total silence after the statement of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who said that NATO’s enlargement towards Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina could be considered a mistake and a provocation, while is accessed all together – an irresponsible policy at the expense of the joint building of the security in Europe, Macedonian Utrinski vesnik daily writes.
The newspaper comments that this is a drastic twist in the Russian position on Macedonia’s NATO membership.
So far it was believed that Moscow would be happy with NATO’s enlargement in the Balkans, but Macedonia still has the right to choose its strategic direction.
Analysts used to comment that Moscow would try to expand the zone of the frozen conflicts and most likely would use the countries in the Balkans to realise its goals in terms of Ukraine.
Former Macedonian ambassador to NATO, Nano Ruzin, evaluated Lavrov’s statement as interference in the home affairs of the country.
In his words, there was certain withdrawal of the current policy of Moscow in terms of the European-Atlantic integration of Macedonia.

[Tooting Carmen]

NATO has expanded eastwards contravening the agreements signed between the West and the then USSR in the 1980s.

[Crn Volk]

NATO has expanded eastwards contravening the agreements signed between the West and the then USSR in the 1980s.

Interesting how Russia is taking a stand now though

[Tooting Carmen]

Interesting how Russia is taking a stand now though

It can only tolerate so much.

[Blackfyre]

I can understand Russia being concerned about Ukraine, the Caucasus, the Baltic etc... But the Balkans are not their concern, especially if those nations are determined to join NATO and the EU.

[dralos]

pussies they won't do anything or else they get a furious air force one at their door

[Crn Volk]

Russia should offer an alternative to Macedonia and Serbia in particular

[Ars Moriendi]

I can understand Russia being concerned about Ukraine, the Caucasus, the Baltic etc... But the Balkans are not their concern, especially if those nations are determined to join NATO and the EU.

Allowing NATO to encircle from all sides Serbia to would be against Russian interests. Progress is being made with Hungary regarding a more amicable tone and coinciding interests, hopefully aiming to build an alternative bloc in Eastern Europe.

If the West is allowed to counter that by expanding their projection over the Adriatic, all progress would be undone. Whil FYR Macedonia isn't too important in the grander scale of things, for the time being it's an useful cushion.

[Zezak]

russia's biggest nightmare is nato

[Blackfyre]

Allowing NATO to encircle from all sides Serbia to would be against Russian interests. Progress is being made with Hungary regarding a more amicable tone and coinciding interests, hopefully aiming to build an alternative bloc in Eastern Europe.

If the West is allowed to counter that by expanding their projection over the Adriatic, all progress would be undone. Whil FYR Macedonia isn't too important in the grander scale of things, for the time being it's an useful cushion.

Serbia is moving, thankfully, to an EU membership so I dont see how it would be encircled any more than Austria is (as I recall, Austria is an Eu non-NATO nation bordering NATO nations and the neutral Swiss). We still actually do not know if Serbia will join NATO as that is possible too