Skopje, 8 June 2022 (MIA) – EU accession process of North Macedonia and Albania need to urgently move forward. Veto tactics pose a serious security risk to the Balkans, assessed US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence Laura Cooper and Defence Minister Slavjanka Petrovska in a joint interview with VOA given during the visit of the Macedonian delegation to Washington. “We consider that it is very important diplomatic talks to continue to resolve this issue. I commend North Macedonia’s leadership and the way it approached this challenge. I think what we saw from North Macedonia is diplomatic leadership,” Cooper said. She also said that stalemate of EU accession is in Moscow’s favour “as it certainly will seek to exacerbate divisions and seek to thwart the accession, whether was before to NATO, which we now Russia tried to stop and now to the EU.” Minister Petrovska considered that too long tactics or delay in the start of negotiations due to the Bulgaria’s veto could cause a serious security problem in the Balkans, because the frustration of waiting too long in this process is already felt and is something that further discourages administration and society as a whole. “This tactics, especially in the conditions of military aggression against Ukraine, leaves room for the influence of third countries that are not always, i.e. most often, not in favor of the situation. Greater action, greater involvement from all sides will be beneficial for all,” said Petrovska, thanking for the continuous and unequivocal US support. Concerning hybrid threats, Petrovska said that their intensification is visible, especially after the launch of Russian invasion of Ukraine. “Hybrid threats have been present in North Macedonia before, but with the launch of Russian invasion of Ukraine, and because of the position of the Government of North Macedonia on this issue, which is a clear condemnation and unequivocal support of Ukraine in this struggle, intensified towards North Macedonia, towards the institutions and of course towards certain ministers, politicians, or public figures who express that attitude,” Petrovska said. Minister Petrovska participated in the strategic dialogue between the two countries in Washington last week, and held a series of meetings at the State Department, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania. During the strategic dialogue, a US grant of US$40 million was announced for the modernization of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia and for increasing the protection against hybrid threats.