NATO gives positive membership signals to Albania

RIGA, Nov. 29 – On Wednesday, Albania received a positive signal from NATO leaders that it would be welcome as a full member in the next enlargement summit in 2008 in Washington. The same offer was also made to Croatia and Macedonia, which, along with Albania, have signed the Adriatic 3 Charter, a U.S.-backed initiative outlining a common military strategy and promoting regional cooperation. The three Balkan countries already take part in the NATO Partnership for Peace program and are lined up to join the alliance. NATO said it would invite those countries that meet alliance membership requirements to become full members at its 2008 summit. Albania has small army units in peacekeeping missions in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq. It is already negotiating with the Untied Nations to send units to Lebanon.
NATO leaders also invited Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia to join a program considered the first step toward eventual membership in the alliance: the Partnership for Peace outreach program. The program includes many former Eastern Bloc countries and is considered a stepping stone toward full NATO membership. Albania was the first country to join the program in the early 1990s. NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the decision to invite Serbia to participate in the program was an important political move, and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana called it a significant step in the efforts of the Balkan countries to overcome their wartime past.