NATO did not take so far any decision about the possible adhesion of former Soviet republics Ukraine and Georgia to the North Atlantic military bloc, announced today Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.
To the question when will NATO offer Ukraine and Georgia green light to take part to the Membership Action Plan, which is the first stage for joining NATO, Scheffer replied “The subject is still under debate”.
“Moscow launched in many occasions different comments on this subject. We take our Russian partners seriously. They must be involved in the discussions” declared the Secretary General for the “Wyborcza Gazette” daily.
The Russian Ambassador at NATO, Dmitri Rogozin, had warned a day before that the separatist regions in Georgia, with Moscow’s consent, will break off from the country if it joins NATO.
Georgian regions Abkhazia and Southern Ossetia separated from Tbilisi after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. They are presently self-governing, but without having been recognized internationally.
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer added that he expects the North Atlantic Alliance to reach common ground at the Bucharest Summit on the matter of the United States’ plans to install anti-missile shield in Central Europe, plans that might have consequences on the security in Western Europe.
(Source: Mediafax)
