Macedonia deserves to move forward in the Euro-Integration process, stressed Tuesday Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki at a debate dedicated to Macedonia, hosted by the European Council on Foreign Relations.

FM Poposki elaborated on Macedonia's efforts with regards to the Euro-Atlantic integration process, the name dispute with Greece and developments within the country.

According to him, there are two myths related to Macedonia. One is that the country has territorial pretensions, which is refuted by the citizens' ties and economic cooperation with Greece. The second is related to the country's EU and NATO accession, which is supported by 90 percent of Macedonia's citizens.

Poposki said Macedonia has met all reforms for NATO membership and has obtained recommendations for start of EU accession talks, but Greece has obstructed this due to the bilateral row. Moreover, he referred to the Hague ruling, but also the fact that Greece has no motivation for settlement of the dispute, because of the pending parliamentary elections and the crisis.

"The fact that Greece has problems does not mean that our lives should constantly worsen. We have our objectives - NATO and EU accession. We have started the high-level dialogue with EU, including reforms in judiciary, administration, fight against corruption, economic reforms and media", said Poposki.

Pertaining to recent interethnic incidents, FM Poposki said such events occurred not only in Macedonia, but also in other countries worldwide.

"What is most important for their solving is the rule of law and bringing the culprits before the court", he added.

Former NATO Secretary-General George Robertson said Macedonia should have been an Alliance member by now, adding that the country needs to be more flexible in the name row.

FM Poposki completes the London visit with meetings at the House of Lords, departing later in the day for a March 28-29 official visit to the Czech Republic.