In its mission to further develop a growing alliance to fend off the Russian aggression threat, NATO is officially engaging in talks with Macedonia. Following Crimea’s ‘annexation’ by Russia, Russia is perceived as a very grave threat by some European nations which seem to fear something like that happening to them. A High NATO Delegation has taken place in Skopje, headed up by the leader of the Euro-Atlantic & Global Partnership office of NATO.
European Western Balkans News reports:
SKOPJE – With a High NATO Delegation in Skopje, led by James Mackey, head of the Euro-Atlantic & Global Partnership office at NATO, defacto accession negotiations for NATO membership begin, said NATO co-ordinator Stevo Pendarovski, reports META. “Looking back on past experiences, we expect the entire process to last 18 months. It will be an intensive period, but we will be patient and expect to work with your government”, stated Mackey.
Elsewhere, concerns about Russian malign activity range from hacking elections to meddling in those elections through social media ads and activism to spreading fake news in order to influence voters to cast their votes for certain candidates or causes, from the Brexit referendum, to the Catalonian Independence referendum, to elections in Italy, Denmark, Germany, and elsewhere, but most importantly those of the United States, where Russia is blamed by a massive number of politicians and media outlets for helping to put Trump in the White House.
Russia has also found itself accused of carrying attempted assassinations in Britain, most notably that of an ex spy, Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, through the use of the banned nerve agent Novichok. Russia also apparently cheats in athletic competitions, which was the major reason why the Russian team was obstructed from participation in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Russia has been aiding breakaway regions in the Ukraine in their fight for independence from the new regime in Kiev, as well as backing the regime of ‘animal Assad’ in Syria. Russia is a bad boy, and needs to by held in check, and NATO is going to accomplish this feat, especially if it can bring in a few new members and secure the proper amount of funding from some of its European participants.
The post Macedonia’s NATO accession talks have begun appeared first on The Duran.