15:54 GMT, October 6, 2010 (Released 10/05/2010) "There are no dilemmas for the USA: they respect, appreciate and value the Republic of Macedonia and give their strong support for its approach to NATO," stated Defence Minister Zoran Konjanovski following his meeting yesterday evening with the US Secretary for Defence Robert Gates.

According to the MIA reporter, Konjanovski said that the message conveyed by Gates stated that the reforms undertaken by the Republic of Macedonia are appropriately valued and recognized, as well the contribution that the Macedonian troops give within the ISAF mission in Afghanistan.

"I must underline that there are no additional remarks regarding the membership of the Republic of Macedonia to NATO. We pointed out that Macedonia demands only what it deserves – valuing the reforms and becoming part of the Alliance as soon as possible," said the Defence Minister.

The reforms have been completed and no member of the Alliance can say that they have not been successfully completed or that there is any disruption, yet the non-principal outstanding name issue with Greece still remains. A solution that would enable Macedonia to join NATO, in his view, would be acceding the Alliance under the provisional name, since nobody can guarantee that the dispute will be solved in one or two years.

"The Republic of Greece has the obligation primarily not to impede the integration processes of the Republic of Macedonia. If a mutually acceptable solution is not reached, the Republic of Macedonia should become part of NATO under its provisional name FYROM until the final resolution of the name dispute, imposed by Greece has been reached," stated the Defence Minister.

Konjanovski reminded that Macedonia has been trying to find a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue for many years. "We want to succeed since we see Macedonia’s future in NATO, but it is a fact that over these 18 years it has been very hard to come to such a solution and there is nobody that can guarantee that it will be reached in one or two years. I think that a solution should be sought and reached and that this solution maybe lies in Macedonia’s integration in NATO family under its provisional reference," stated Konjanovski.

At the meeting with the US Defence Sectetary Gates, which was also attended by CHOD Miroslav Stojanovski and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US armed forces Michael Mullen, they discussed the cooperation between Macedonian and the USA to date, the current situation in Afghanistan and the efforts made by the Coalition to set right the situation in the country and the future plans for cooperation between the two respective Ministries and armies.

As part of his visit to Washington, which is taking place in the eve of the NATO Summit in Lisbon, Minister Konjanovski was briefed in Pentagon on the situation in Afghanistan, where the ARM has 242 deployed troops.

Konjanovski also met Senator John McCain, the candidate of the Republican Party in the last presidential elections in the USA. They talked about the situation in the Republic of Macedonia and the region, as well as about the common American-Macedonian challenges. Senator McCain expressed his thanks for the activities that the Republic of Macedonia is undertaking jointly with the USA and the other NATO members in Afghanistan.

Prior to this meeting, Konjanovski had a working lunch with eminent representatives of several US think-tanks.

Today, the Macedonian Defence Minister will address the Strategic session of the Atlantic Council, to be followed by meetings with the Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau for Military-Political Affairs in the State Department, Andrew Shapiro and with Senator Patrick Leahy, who submitted the latest resolution on Macedonia to the Senate, as well as with Congressman Robert Anderhalt, one of the signatories of the letter to President Barack Obama, supporting Macedonia’s accession to NATO at Lisbon Summit.