Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki met Tuesday in Washington with the US Secretary of State John Kerry on the margins of the conference on NATO and EU enlargement and discussed Ukraine crisis and its influence on integration.

Poposki after the meeting said that even after administered elections, NATO and EU membership remain our strategic goal.

Here, we had the opportunity to exchange opinions with the State Secretary Kerry and the foreign ministers from the region on priorities for the following period. In the light of the Ukraine crisis, the meeting was a good opportunity for sending a message that NATO remains committed to the goal Europe to be united and free, and such goal can be accomplished by NATO membership of Macedonia and other countries from the region. We also discussed about respect of the international law – the strongest argument of the Republic of Macedonia – which we hope will be heard in the capital which so far remained deaf regarding the International Court of Justice ruling, Poposki said after the meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in the Atlantic Council in Washington.

Poposki addressed the panel on South Europe along with his counterparts from Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania, as well as the Atlantic Council representative, Ian Brzezinski. The conference hosts over forty speakers. The keynote speakers on April 30 will be US Vice-President Jo Biden the Jose Manuel Barroso, European Commission President.

Poposki remarked that Macedonia in the following period should prove that is a stable and committed partner in the Euro-Atlantic integration process and we expect our counterparts to do the same. Macedonia will remain committed to realization of our strategic goal which is in the interest to the rest of NATO and EU. US Secretary of State Kerry and foreign ministers of Bulgaria Kristian Vigenin and of Albania Ditmir Bushati sent a clear message for being committed to realize the goal of united Europe and in this goal the Macedonia’s membership in the NATO and the EU is of great importance, Poposki said.

Minister Vigenin requested NATO enlargement not to turn into bureaucratic process and that Montenegro and Macedonia should be admitted as members at NATO summit in Britain, with the that the name dispute between Macedonia and Greece would be resolved by then.

Though Minster Bushati agreed that the journey of the Balkans to the EU has seen remarkable progress, he cautioned that the reaction of the European Union towards the Western Balkans has largely followed a wait-and-see approach. In his opinion, there is a great need for action: “The consolidation of the South is a challenging process, and it needs greater EU and US involvement.”

Minister Vigenin was decisive in his assessment. “Ultimately, we all have the same goals—greater stability,” he declared. The way to achieve this is lined with obstacles, but EU and NATO membership would be a significant step in the right direction. Much like Ukraine, the Balkans are at a decisive political moment, and it is important that the region gets the next step right.

It's been 15 years and 10 years and five years since then that NATO has welcomed new partners into the post-Cold War era. And as we have expanded as an organization -- as NATO has expanded as an organization, I think it's safe to say we have also expanded democracy, prosperity and stability in Europe. And we have opened new opportunities in order to be able to advance security even further. And we have spurred economic growth around the globe, Kerry said