Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of North Macedonia's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. North Macedonia's path to NATO accession has been a long one. Despite being regarded early on as a leading candidate for NATO membership, Macedonia's name dispute with Greece became a huge roadblock. A disagreement over a country's name may not seem like a big deal to those looking in from the outside, but getting over this hurdle required significant political courage. In 2017, Greece's Prime Minister Tsipras and Macedonia's Prime Minister Zaev displayed that level of political courage when they committed to settle the nearly three decades-long dispute. Because of their leadership, these two nations signed the Prespa agreement last year. Greece agreed to remove its objection and approve Macedonia's accession to NATO in exchange for Macedonia agreeing to change its name to North Macedonia. This dispute resolution between Greece and North Macedonia demonstrates that NATO is not only an effective defensive alliance, but it has been a tremendous force for stability in Europe. North Macedonia is poised to soon become NATO's 30th member because it worked to resolve a longstanding bilateral disagreement. I support NATO's longstanding open-door policy, and I hope that the goal of NATO membership will continue to guide other aspirants to solve longstanding disputes, fight corruption, and make difficult necessary domestic reforms.…”