Defense Minister Slavjanka Petrovska told Telma TV on Monday that the country’s position as regards the issue between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Ukraine is that the country fully supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.

– From what we get through our channels of communication within NATO structures and from what the public is informed, is that diplomatic negotiations for a peaceful settlement of this dispute are underway. Absolutely, as a state, we support such a course of events, ie we stand for a diplomatic solution to this dispute”, said Petrovska.

The Minister of Defense, Petrovska, stated that our country has not received any requests from Russia, as it asked NATO to withdraw from Bulgaria and Romania. Regarding the relations with the Federation, Petrovska said that as a country we have good diplomatic and friendly relations with all countries.

Regarding the obligations of the Macedonian Army as a NATO member, in case of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Minister said that the engagement of our army, as well as the armies of all other NATO member states, is defined at conferences for generating forces that are held under the coordination of the Supreme Command of the NATO Allied Forces in Minsk specifically on this topic.

“At these conferences, each member state makes available forces, units or equipment according to its own capabilities. At this moment, our army as part of those structures has an obligation and is already preparing analyzes for the possibilities for our potential participation or engagement. The decision for eventual participation is prescribed in which procedure it is carried out, a decision of the Government is required here. Such a decision has not been adopted yet”, said Petrovska.