A5 Charter meetings being held in Tirana
The contribution of the armies of the Adriatic Charter member-countries in the ISAF Mission in Afghanistan, was the main topic of discussion at the meeting of the Chiefs of Staff of the five members of the Adriatic Group (A5), which took place in Tirana on May 21, 2009.
This regional initiative member states are Albania, Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro, whereas Serbia has the observer status.
The Adriatic Charter is an association formed initially by Albania, Croatia and Republic of Macedonia for the purpose of aiding their attempts to join NATO. The Charter was signed in 2003 in Washington under the aegis of USA. In September 2008 Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina were invited to join the Charter. They joined on December 4, 2008. On April 1, 2009, Albania and Croatia became the first of the group to join NATO.
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Macedonian Army (ARM) delegation, was led by Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant-General Miroslav Stojanovski.
Serbian Army Chief of General Staff Lt-Gen. Miloje Miletic participated in the meeting of the Chiefs of General Staff of the United States Adriatic Charter in Tirana. The main topic of the gathering was to consider possible forms of cooperation between the member states of this security initiative, as well as to engage certain members in peace operations, the Serbian Army said in a statement. After the conference, Miletic had a bilateral meeting with Deputy Commander of the United States European Command (EUCOM) Vice Adm. Richard Gallagher. "Gallagher expressed support to Serbia's further defense reform processes and offered EUCOM's concrete help," above all in area of training, education and joint activities in accomplishing defined standards and interoperability, the statement says.
In addition to the Chiefs of General Staffs of the Armies of the A-3+2 countries (Macedonia, Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Monte Negro), the Chiefs of General Staffs of the Armies of Italy and Serbia were also invited to attend the conference, as well as the Deputy Commander of the US European Command and SHAPE and NATO JFC senior representatives from Naples and Brunsum.
The main topic of discussion was the “Contribution of the Armies of the Adriatic Charter nations for participation in ISAF in Afghanistan”. In addition to the presentations delivered on this topic, the participants had an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences from their participation to date in the largest NATO mission.
The meeting is expected to contribute to further strengthening of the military cooperation within the Adriatic Charter itself and broader in the region.
Earlier this month Tirana hosted the regular meeting of the Partnership Committee of Adriatic Charter member-states' foreign ministers. The meeting, attended by NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, focussed on issues related to the future of the Adriatic Group, and was followed by a joint statement.
The meeting of foreign ministers of Adriatic Chart held in Tirana voiced the solidarity for the membership of west Balkan countries in NATO, including Serbia and Kosova. The activity held in Tirana brought together the foreign ministers of Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Montenegro.
“I wish to express wish, will and commitment of Albania and of the other countries part of this chart that Serbia and Kosova might one day join this successful initiative and region’s all efforts to finally open the euro-atlantic perspective for these two countries and secure their place in a region fully associated to NATO and EU, a region that leaves the bitter past of conflict behind and goes forward in the spirit of cooperation towards peace, security and prosperity for all people of the region,” said Albanian Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“The path for Bosnia and Montenegro to NATO is open and they should follow the example of Albania and Croatia in this direction. I have said it previously too that the euro-atlantic integration of west Balkan countries is the only way for stability in the region. This clearly shows how region countries might cooperate and agree. Aspirant countries still have road to make but no one would be excluded,” NATO Secretary General Scheffer said.
While continuing reforms is required from Montenegro and Bosnia, Macedonia continues to be hindered by the name issue with Greece. Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Miloshoski said the solution depends on Athens.
Bilateral differences or unsolved issues from the past should not hamper joint support and solidarity, the foreign ministers of Adriatic Group countries (A5) agreed in a joint statement.
A5 foreign ministers pinpointed Macedonia's commitment and success in meeting the NATO standards, saying they expected the country to obtain full fledged NATO membership in near future. Strong support was also expressed for successful EU integration of BiH and Montenegro.
At a joint press conference following the meeting, the ministers expressed hope that Serbia and Kosovo would joint the Adriatic group as soon as possible in order to contribute to further development of neighbourly relations, stabilisation and economic prosperity of both the Balkans and Europe.
Tirana's meeting of the Partnership Commission of Adriatic Group foreign ministers was joined for the first time by BiH and Montenegro after being admitted in the Group in November last year. It is being held every six months when the Adriatic Group presidency is handed over. Next presidency holder is Bosnia & Herzegovina.
References:
NATO Official Web site http://www.nato.int
US Department of State http://state.gov
BSANNA News http://bsanna-news.ukrinform.ua
Ministry of Defense, Republic of Macedonia http://morm.gov.mk
IDIVIDI News agency http://www.idividi.com.mk/English/
Macedonian Information Agency http://mia.com.mk
ALSAT Television http://www.alsat.tv