Brussels, 16 February 2024 (MIA) — Thanks to the brave landmark decision North Macedonia made to join NATO, there are no conventional risks now threatening the country's security, according to Minister of Defense Slavjanka Petrovska in a MIA interview following Thursday's meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.

"This decision shows how important it is for statespeople to make the right decisions in challenging times for a country," Minister Petrovska told MIA's Brussels correspondent.

Asked to comment on former US President and potential Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's recent statement that NATO would not protect European NATO allies that don't spend enough on NATO, Petrovska said the Alliance was based on principles of protecting each other and being a collective defense system.

"The founding treaty is clear that if one country is threatened, all allies respond," the defense minister said. "Those rules are in fact the foundations of the Alliance, that each country will be individually protected if there is any kind of attack on it."

Petrovska noted, however, that it was important to be aware of invisible, unconventional attacks, including hybrid threats.

"While building defense instruments or mechanisms to fight against these hybrid threats and influences, we need to raise public awareness of them because only through an alliance between the state institutions and social stakeholders can we build a defense mechanism against hybrid threats," she said.

She said such influences were aimed at undermining public trust in institutions and hindering the country's progress.

"The Republic of North Macedonia, unfortunately, has had this experience," Petrovska said.

"We know what happened and is still happening in our process of European integration, our second strategic and highly important goal," she added.

One of the priorities of the Ministry of Defense, Petrovska pointed out, was the fight against disinformation and hybrid threats.

The defense minister also said NATO procurement experts would visit the country at the beginning of March to present options to local companies about entering the NATO market.

She said the government needed to help the domestic military industry to increase production capacities and boost the country's economy.

On the upcoming elections, Minister Petrovska said she expected parties to be honest and sincere in their election platforms.

"Maybe people will say my expectations are naive for a politician and defense minister, but they are very sincere. I think we owe this to the citizens. First, this means we should not hide challenges our country is facing," she said.

She said one of these challenges was the constitutional change necessary for the country to continue its accession talks with the EU. "We really need to make this decision, we cannot run away from it," she said.

She said political parties needed to be honest and truthfully present their plans and visions for the country's future and address problems plaguing citizens on a daily basis.

"Not just to address them – we are expected to offer solutions. But realistic solutions that are sustainable, solutions that can truly be implemented," Petrovska said.

"If this is our approach," she added, "citizens will find it easy to choose the right side." mr/