Turkey fully supports the right of Macedonia to determine its constitutional name.

Your Excellency, twenty years since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Turkey will be marked this year. What is your view on the development of relations and cooperation between the two countries and their future perspective?

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Twenty years ago, right after Macedonia's independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, Turkey immediately established diplomatic relations with the Republic of Macedonia. Today, we are pleased to celebrate our longstanding friendship and cooperation with Macedonia. Turkey is the first country to recognize Macedonia with its constitutional name, together with its national identity. The relations between Turkey and Macedonia have always been based on mutual respect, affection and understanding. It is undoubted that our bilateral relations will continue to be based on the same foundations also in the future. I am happy to note that we have not encountered any problems in our political relations, and this accords us even higher hopes for the future.

The attainment and furthering of the welfare and happiness of our nations are the primary objectives of our states. I believe that many opportunities exist in bilateral fields to be utilized in this direction. Economic relations are a case in point. Commercial relations are developing at a rapid pace and we look forward to further strengthening of the economic ties for our mutual benefit. In 2011, the trade volume between Turkey and Macedonia exceeded 400 million US Dollars. Moreover, according to the latest data, the third biggest investor in Macedonia last year was Turkey with 75 million Euros. Since there is more room for further cooperation between the two countries in the economic field, we believe that the interest of large Turkish companies in the Macedonian market will further increase in the period ahead.

Additionally, the presence of the Turkish community, which is strongly loyal to the Republic of Macedonia, contributes to advancing further the Turkish-Macedonian bilateral relations.

I hope that our friendship and cooperation, built over the past two decades, would be further strengthened in the years ahead.

The Republic of Macedonia highly values the principled stance of the Republic of Turkey and its consistent use of the constitutional name of the Republic of Macedonia. How do you assess the conditioning of the start of the accession talks between the Republic of Macedonia and the EU with the resolution of the name issue with the Republic of Greece and does the Judgment of the International Court of Justice in The Hague open up an opportunity for other countries to follow Turkey's principled stance, too?

Turkey fully supports the right of Macedonia to determine its constitutional name. We are closely following the UN negotiation process regarding the name issue with Greece and hope that a solution acceptable for both sides through dialog and diplomatic means can be found soon.

On the other hand, the EU should display a fair, objective and principled approach towards Macedonia. We openly and strongly oppose actions aimed at preventing Macedonia's EU membership on grounds that are not related to its performance or obligations stemming from its aspirant status.

Turkey welcomes the ruling of International Court of Justice, dated 5 December 2011, which concluded that Greece had breached the Interim Accord, with the expectation that it will accelerate Macedonia's efforts to integrate with the European and Euro-Atlantic institutions and provide a support to it on a legal basis.

As the only country announcing its appreciation of the ICJ ruling by a Ministerial Statement, Turkey will continue to support Macedonia to accomplish its integration process with the European and Euro-Atlantic institutions without delay.

The NATO Summit will be held in Chicago in May when the enlargement of the Alliance is expected to be discussed. What is the position of the Republic of Turkey in relation to the future enlargement and, in this context, the accession of the Republic of Macedonia as a full-fledged member of the Alliance?

NATO's new role in the development of new security architecture in Europe is the outcome of the momentous and historical changes that took place following the collapse of the Iron Curtain and the rebirth of freedom and democracy in the nations of Central and Eastern Europe. Today, in Europe we all are looking for more security, more prosperity, more advanced democracy and greater political integration. At such a juncture, integration of the Balkan countries with the European and Euro-Atlantic structures is crucial for durable peace and stability in the region.

As, in fact, it emphasizes on every occasion, Turkey supports the enlargement of NATO. We see the enlargement of NATO as an integral part of the process of restructuring European and transatlantic institutions. We also look upon it as a component of European integration as a whole.

Turkey has been encouraging and supporting Macedonia's Euro-Atlantic integration from the beginning and hopes that Macedonia's NATO membership will be realized soon.

However, it should be taken into consideration that enlargement is not on the agenda of the Chicago Summit, and none of the NATO member countries, except Turkey, is eager to add an enlargement item to the agenda.

Your Excellency, Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, accompanied by several ministers, has recently paid a working visit to the Republic of Turkey to present the opportunities and conditions for investment in the Republic of Macedonia. In this regard, what are the plans of the Republic of Turkey and what is the interest of Turkish companies in making new investments in the Republic of Macedonia and increasing trade?

Macedonia has made progress in its economy as well as in other areas since independence. Despite two major global crises, it has maintained economic growth and has continued to attract foreign investments.

As I mentioned before, the trade volume between Turkey and Macedonia reached more than 400 million US Dollars in 2011. However, the 6-day visit of Prime Minister Gruevski and his accompanying delegation of representatives of the Macedonian business community to Turkey on the occasion of the Third Meeting of the Turkish-Macedonian Business Forum has clearly shown us once again that there is more to be done to further strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries.

As it is known, TAV, the Turkish airport company, constructed Alexander the Great Airport in Skopje and renovated St. Paul the Apostle Airport in Ohrid last year. I hope that the large Turkish companies' interest in the Macedonian market will further increase. As a matter of fact, I am glad to see that more Turkish businessmen seem to be interested in investing in Macedonia after Prime Minister Gruevski's last visit to Turkey.

H.E. Mr. Gurol Sokmensuer, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to the Republic of Macedonia