NATO says Albania, Croatia should become alliance members by April meeting

BRUSSELS, Dec 3 – NATO foreign ministers said Wednesday they expected Albania and Croatia to become the alliance’s newest members by April.
They reiterated that Macedonia would be invited to join as soon as it settles a dispute over its name with Greece.
A final communique also noted that Bosnia and Montenegro had achieved significant progress in their quest for membership.
“Albania and Croatia have already accomplished important reforms,” the communique said. “Our aim is to welcome the two new members into the alliance at our next summit.”
The two nations will become the 27th and 28th members of the Western alliance. Their foreign ministers participated for the first time in the two-day meeting of NATO ministers that ended Wednesday.
“This is a very significant step for Croatia,” Croatia’s foreign minister Gordan Jandrokovic said after the talks.
Greece claims that its neighbor’s use of the name Macedonia implies territorial claims on a northern Greek province also called Macedonia. It wants Macedonia to change its name before joining NATO.
In his speech Albanian Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha thanked the United States for its support in the integration process and added that Albania was ready to take over any responsibility and obligation coming out from the membership in the alliance.
The minister also reassured the NATO member countries of his government’s resolution to continue reforms along the efforts of achieving the required standards.