In a symbolic gesture, the Greek Government will most probably be the first country to ratify North Macedonia’s NATO accession protocol. Beta agency is reporting this on Wednesday, citing EURACTIV.

The plan is to do this by February 8, sources close to the issue told the Brussels-based website.

The article further quotes as NATO spokesperson who on January 28 said the date for signing the accession protocol of the 30th member of the alliance would be determined “in the coming days”, after Athens and Skopje both ratified a historic deal that ended their 27-year-old dispute in January, which has so far blocked Skopje's efforts to join NATO and the EU.

This practically means that North Macedonia could become a NATO member at the July summit if the rest of NATO allies speed up the ratification procedures as well. Normally the ratification process takes a year, EURACTIV writes.