President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, as part of her participation in the 79th United Nations General Assembly, met in New York with Alexander Kasanof, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Balkans.
At the meeting, President Siljanovska Davkova emphasized the importance of strategic partnership and friendship with the US and expressed her expectation for strengthened support from official Washington for the earliest possible start of accession negotiations with the EU.
President Siljanovska Davkova indicated that it is in the interest of both countries and the region of the Western Balkans that the first chapters in the Macedonian negotiations with the EU will soon be opened and that the United States will play a constructive role in that process, which is also important due to global security challenges.
In the talks, President Siljanovska Davkova expressed hope that the European Union will start respecting its own decisions that indicate that bilateral issues must not block the enlargement process.
The Macedonian President reiterated the position that after 16 recommendations of the European Commission for the start of Macedonian membership negotiations, the EU should implement its own rules and follow the Copenhagen criteria as the only conditions for entry into the Union.
The US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Alexander Kasanof said that President Siljanovska Davkova and the government in Skopje can count on the support of the United States in the attempt to break through the blockade that the country is facing on the way to the EU.
At the meeting, Kasanof expressed gratitude for the Macedonian military and technical support for Ukraine, which confirms the country’s position as a credible partner of the United States and a member of NATO.
