An out-of-context post misrepresents North Macedonia’s NATO membership

Ukraine’s right to defend itself from Russian military aggression is inviolable, and NATO countries support Ukraine in this right, leaving no room for the wrong conclusion—that they are unprepared to defend their territories. The war in Ukraine was started by Russia, and N. Macedonia is not involved in it. The money allocated for defense in the country, as well as the threshold agreed upon between NATO allies of 5 percent, does not go “to rotten weapons and war with Russia” but to strengthen the overall defense of the region, as well as the national defense of N. Macedonia

 

We analyze a Facebook post that says:

Every year we have to pay NATO 750 million euros for rotten weapons and a war with Russia, which has done nothing to us.

Since North Macedonia became a member of the NATO Alliance, the country has been obligated to annually allocate at least 2 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) to defense. This is not for “rotten weapons and war with Russia,” as falsely claimed in the post we are reviewing, but for self-defense and strengthening interoperability in the defense sector with the armed forces of other NATO members.

Starting this year, a long-term commitment is to increase the defense budget to possibly 5 percent of GDP, but not until 2035. The defense budget also includes the maintenance of facilities and the construction of new ones, the salaries of defense employees, the maintenance of equipment and weapons, and the procurement of new ones, possible engagements of members of the Army abroad, etc. All of this shows that a significant part of these funds will remain with us, some will be spent on purchases from abroad, but there is no question of any situation in which we will pay NATO, especially not 750 million euros.

Moreover, these funds are not only for direct military procurement, but are an overall investment in security, economic development and infrastructure. For example, it is predicted that at least 3.5 percent of GDP will be spent on defense needs, including weapons procurement, and up to 1.5 percent will be allocated to other defense-related investments that improve military mobility and protect against cyber attacks. All this means that NATO will not be paid anything, but the funds will be spent on our defense and our development in areas such as infrastructure, defense against cyber attacks, and more. Furthermore, the dynamics of spending, the method and decisions for this will be made by the Macedonian authorities and bodies and will be reviewed every four years, which means that a decision can be made to repurpose these funds, as, in fact, any state expenditure can be decided in budget discussions.

We are moving towards five percent, so that we do not ever need to move towards 30-40 percent, as some countries that have conflicts on their territory spend, said Timcho Mucunski, Minister of Foreign Affairs, adding that the funds will cover not only military modernization, but also investments in infrastructure, cybersecurity, as well as innovations and startups.

The GDP for 2024 for North Macedonia was 13.7 billion euros. Of this, according to the latest budget revision, 293.8 million euros are planned to be spent on defense, which represents 2.2 percent of the gross domestic product.

According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the target for higher annual defense budgets is in line with NATO standards and the decision is supported by consensus by all members of the Alliance. The costs will include aspects that have not been included in the definition of the minimum threshold of 2 percent so far, such as investments in NATO corridors, infrastructure of strategic and commercial importance, cybersecurity capacities, etc.

NATO is not at war with Russia and is not party to the war Russia is waging on Ukraine. NATO supports Ukraine in its right to self-defence, as enshrined in the UN Charter. We do not seek confrontation with Russia. In response to Russia’s aggressive actions, we continue to strengthen our deterrence and defence to make sure there is no room for misunderstanding that NATO is ready to protect and defend every Ally. NATO is a defensive Alliance. Our core task is to keep our nations safe, writes the NATO website where pro-Russian disinformation is debunked.

 

Russia started the war in Ukraine, unprovoked, and Ukraine is in a position to have to defend itself.

 

This is a war from Russia of resources and competing defense systems, as much as it is a war of values. So we must continue to invest in Ukraine’s defense and tech primacy. Our Defense Readiness Plan 2030 will be key. It will make available the necessary resources and fiscal space to deliver a surge in military capabilities. And it will boost investment in Ukraine’s defense industry, emphasized European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the Ukraine Recovery Conference, which was held in Rome this year.

 

EU leaders have repeatedly called on Russia to cease its military actions, unconditionally withdraw all forces and military equipment from Ukraine, and fully respect the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine. It was Russia that launched an unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. To expect Ukraine to sit idly by would mean that the citizens of Ukraine agree to be occupied and territorially taken over by Russia, which has not happened. Ukraine, as an independent state with territorial integrity and sovereignty, has the right to defend itself and use the available means of assistance from its friends. If it does not do so, then it would face even greater territorial claims from Russia.

According to the UN Charter, Ukraine has the right and responsibility to protect its people. Self-defense is a fundamental right.

From the above, it is clear that the claims that “we have to pay NATO 750 million euros every year” and that “the money is for rotten weapons and a war with Russia that has done nothing to us” are not true.

Due to all the above facts, we assess that the post we are reviewing is untrue.

 

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