NATO invites Bosnia and Herzegovina to join MAP

NATO foreign ministers have agreed on Thursday to invite Bosnia and Herzegovina to join the Membership Action Plan (MAP), but attached conditions, NATO spokesman James Appathurai said.

The spokesman said the MAP had been granted to the country, but the former Yugoslav republic needs to complete the registration of all military equipment.

Last year, Bosnia and Herzegovina applied to join the MAP, which is designed to assist those countries that wish to join the alliance. Last December, NATO foreign ministers decided that Bosnia and Herzegovina would join the MAP once it achieved the necessary progress in its reform efforts.

NATO later said in a statement that "since then, Bosnia and Herzegovina has made significant progress on reform. Today in Tallinn NATO Foreign Ministers welcome its decision on destruction of surplus ammunition and arms and its new ISAF contributions."

"Foreign Ministers remain concerned, however, that the defense property issue is not yet resolved," it said.

Source: Xinhua