WASHINGTON – U.S. Congresswoman Candice Miller (MI-10) signed a letter along with several members of Congress to urge President Barak Obama to encourage the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders to offer the Republic of Macedonia a formal invitation to become a member of the alliance during the Lisbon Summit.

“Macedonia is a true friend to the United States and our NATO allies,” Miller said. “The people of Macedonia have made many contributions to the world by promoting democracy, freedom and liberty, as well as upholding security and stability in Southeast Europe. Macedonia has been acting as a de facto NATO member for years now and meets all of the criteria for membership of the alliance, that is why are joining together to urge the President to offer his support and ask for the support of each NATO member to offer Macedonia the right of full membership.”

Macedonia has worked with NATO and served as the key staging area for the NATO intervention in Kosovo (Kosovo Force) in 1999, as well as offered refuge to over 360,000 Kosovars during that conflict. In addition, Macedonia has been a strong partner who participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom from July 2003 to December 2008. In Afghanistan, Macedonia is among the top four largest troop contributors per capita to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and its 255 soldiers have been deployed to patrol the ISAF headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan.

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