Bush presses for Ukraine, Georgia membership in NATO
Published: Tuesday, April 01, 2008
UKRAINE-NATO-U.S.
Washington, April 1 (IranVNC)—At a press conference with Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, President George W. Bush on Tuesday voiced his strong support for expanding NATO to include Ukraine and Georgia, despite Russia’s resistance.
“I strongly believe that Ukraine and Georgia should be given MAP (Membership Action Plan) and there’s no tradeoffs. Period,” he said at a press conference in Kiev alongside Ukraine’s President Viktor Yuschenko. This action is the first step in a long process of becoming a permanent NATO member.
Bush added that Ukraine’s membership is “in the interest of every member in the alliance and will help advance security and freedom in this region and around the world.”
But the Ukrainian membership bid faces domestic oppositions as well as resistance from France and Germany. Only 30 percent of survey respondents in Ukraine support NATO membership, Reuters reported.
France and Germany say that Ukraine has not achieved political stability and this move would antagonize Russia, a major supplier of Europe’s gas.
Former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich has called on NATO states to reject Ukraine’s request.
“Approval would spark protest by millions,” Reuters quoted Yanukovich as saying. “Those in Europe and across the ocean must be told—Ukraine is not ready for MAP.”
Also on Monday, Toshiba Group-owned Westinghouse Electric Company announced that it had won a five-year contract to provide nuclear fuel supplies to Ukraine beginning 2011. Nearly half of Ukraine’s energy needs are fulfilled by nuclear power.
Bush is headed to Romania’s capital, Bucharest, to attend a 3-day NATO summit where he is expected to make a statement about the need for higher troop commitments in Afghanistan.
Following the summit, Bush will embark on a two-day visit to Croatia that will be a celebration of the country’s pending invitation to join NATO. Macedonia and Albania are two other possible entrants into the alliance.
President Bush will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Saturday. The two will discuss U.S.-Russian relations and the missile defense system for Eastern Europe, which has been met with Russian objections over its location.
Sources: White House website, Reuters, The Associated Press, 2008 Bucharest NATO Summit website
© IranVNC 2008. All rights reserved.