The U.S. has reportedly launched an unexpected diplomatic initiative in Europe, urging NATO allies to offer Georgia and Ukraine membership in the military alliance without going through a lengthy procedure.
According to some sources, Condoleezza Rice has had extensive telephone conversations with French, German and other European envoys, asking them to agree to waive the formal application process.
"There is only one explanation for Rice's all-out effort - to disrupt the start of the work by Barack Obama's new administration, in particular, the new U.S. secretary of state," Dmitry Rogozin said. Obama's nominee for secretary of state is widely expected to be New York Senator Hilary Clinton.
He said he hoped that European nations would "make a decision in the interest of their respective countries and European security as a whole."
Rogozin left Brussels for Moscow earlier on Wednesday to brief the Russian leadership on the situation within the alliance ahead of a NATO foreign ministers' meeting set for early December.
At the Brussels meeting, due to take place on December 2-3, the ministers are to assess the readiness of Ukraine and Georgia for Membership Action Plans, a key step for membership in the 26-nation military alliance.
NATO refused at its Bucharest summit in April to grant Georgia and Ukraine action plans, but promised to review the decision in December. The countries had received strong U.S. backing for their bids. However, concerns by Germany and France that doing so would unnecessarily antagonize Russia won the day.
The U.S. assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, Daniel Fried, was reported on Wednesday as stating that the two former Soviet republics had a lot of work to do before they could receive a NATO membership offer.
