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Macedonia Wants NATO to Leave After Weapons Collection Mission
Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski said on Saturday that NATO forces should leave Macedonia after completing their weapons collection operation, reports from the Macedonian capital of Skopje said.
In an address over national radio to mark the 10th anniversary of the country's independence, Trajkovski said that "it is not in our interest, nor in NATO's to turn Macedonia into another Kosovo or another Bosnia and Herzegovina."
He said the continued presence of NATO forces in Macedonia is not necessary, since Macedonian armed forces have neither participated in ethnic cleansing nor launched a war.
Under the peace accord between the Macedonian government and NATO, NATO should end its mission on September 26. A NATO force has reportedly collected more than a third of the 3,300-piece rebel arsenal by now.
The president reiterated Macedonia's position on the redeployment of U.N. troops for prevention purposes (UNPREDEP). He praised the mission of NATO troops stationed in Macedonia in 1992- 99 as "a positive one," because it helped prevent conflicts in neighboring countries from spreading to Macedonia.
He expressed the hope that troops from northern European countries, the United States and Russia would join these forces so that the United States and Russia would be able work together to safeguard peace in this region.
Trajkovski also pledged his government's efforts to ensure the country's territorial integrity, sovereignty, stability and to the restoration of peace and security for its people.
For this end, he outlined what he termed as "three strategic goals," namely, minimizing all factors that may lead to an ethnic war, enlisting support from the international community, and strengthening mutual trust among citizens.
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