Pentagon Chief Spokesperson Dana W. White provided the following readout:

Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis met with Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Radmila Shekerinska today at the Pentagon to reaffirm the strong defense relationship between the U.S. and Macedonia.

Secretary Mattis and Minister Shekerinska discussed the pending name issue with Greece, which has prevented Macedonian accession to NATO. The U.S. supports efforts to resolve this issue and stands by the decision NATO made in 2008 in Bucharest.

Secretary Mattis praised Macedonia’s recent increase in defense spending and plan to reach two percent of GDP on defense.

Secretary Mattis also thanked the minister for Macedonia’s defense contributions to the mission in Afghanistan, as well as Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iraq.    

This was Minister Shekerinska’s first visit to the Pentagon.