Prime Minister Zoran Zaev sent a letter congratulating Montenegrin Prime MInister Dusko Markovic on the completion of the NATO accession process.

"In the name of the citizens and the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, I congratulate to the citizens and the Government of Montenegro for the major step forward toward the democratic world, with their integration as the 29th fully fledged member of the NATO Alliance. The example given by Montenegro confirms that if there is political will and a high level of civic awareness for the importance of the reform process, then they will be realized with the needed dynamic and will open perspectives for the people and the country", Zaev writes in his letter.

According to Zaev, the accession of Montenegro proves that NATO's doors remain open and will strongly motivate the Macedonian Governmetn to work to meet democratic standards, modernize the army and have Macedonia in NATO as soon as possible. "NATO is an alliance of democracies and the citizens of Macedonia, as well as the citizens of Montenegro and the entire region, need to be part of the civilized world which brings stability and security", Zaev adds in his letter. Macedonia was deemed to have met all NATO criteria in 2008, but was blocked from membership by a Greek veto over the name issue.