Enlargement of NATO
As of 2018, NATO officially recognizes four aspiring members: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia and Ukraine. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina within Bosnia and Herzegovina has expressed willingness to join NATO, however, it faces consistent political pressure from Republika Srpska, the other political entity in the country, alongside its partners in Moscow. Macedonia has been prevented from joining the alliance by Greece, one effect of the Macedonian naming dispute. Future expansion is currently a topic of debate in several countries outside the alliance, and countries like Sweden, Finland, and Serbia have open political debate on the topic of membership, while in countries like Ukraine, support and opposition to membership is tied to ethnic and nationalist ideologies. The incorporation of countries formerly part of the Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union has been a cause of increased tension between NATO countries and Russia.
Defense Forces of Georgia
Despite knowing that there would not be any newcomers announced during the Wales summit, the Georgian government was confident that their country would at least receive the Membership Action Plan, which is the primary precondition for aspirant nations to become NATO member. Instead of the MAP Georgia was offered an alternative route which got accepted by the country's officials yet was met with very mixed reception. The new level of cooperation brings Georgia onto the list of special NATO partners together with Sweden and four other countries.