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Bush signals support for Ukraine, Georgia NATO bids

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The United States supports Ukraine and Georgia's bids to join NATO and will not be influenced by Russia's opposition to the plans, the American president said on Tuesday.
KIEV, April 1 (RIA Novosti) - The United States supports Ukraine and Georgia's bids to join NATO and will not be influenced by Russia's opposition to the plans, the American president said on Tuesday.

Ukraine and Georgia have formally requested to join NATO's Membership Action Plan (MAP), a program that prepares countries for accession to the Western military alliance but does not guarantee membership.

"I will continue to make America's position clear: we support the MAP for Ukraine and Georgia," George W. Bush told a news conference after talks with President Viktor Yushchenko in the Ukrainian capital.

He reiterated that Ukraine and Georgia's NATO bids were no reason for Russia to be concerned, but said that "Russia will not have a veto over what happens in Bucharest."

Bush also said that the move would be beneficial for both NATO and ex-Soviet republics and would "help advance security in this region [Eastern Europe] and around the world."

Bush's visit to Kiev is a stop-over before a trip to Romania for the April 2-4 NATO summit.

Kiev and Tbilisi are hoping that NATO members will adopt the decision to allow Ukraine and Georgia to join the MAP during the summit in Bucharest.

However, despite Washington's unequivocal support for Ukraine's and Georgia's bids, their membership is far from certain, with key NATO member countries, namely Germany and France, opposing the plans, partly over fears of provoking Russia.

NATO expansion and the U.S. missile shield plans have triggered confrontational rhetoric from Russia and prompted the country to temporarily withdraw from the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe treaty, a crucial arms control arrangement, in mid-December 2007.

The Kremlin also threatened in February to target missiles at Ukraine if Kiev joins NATO and allows Western military facilities on its territory.

After the summit, Bush will meet with Putin in Sochi, Russia's resort city on the Black Sea, for more discussions on NATO's expansion and U.S. plans to deploy elements of its missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Bush also said he would try to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukrainian and Georgian membership in NATO would not threaten Russia's interests or national security.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's drive toward NATO membership has triggered domestic parliamentary opposition protests amid widespread antipathy toward the alliance. A survey published earlier this month said only 11% of Ukrainians supported the idea of NATO membership, while almost 36% were strongly opposed.

On Monday, thousands of people gathered on Kiev's Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) to rally against Bush and NATO, displaying banners with the slogans "NATO is worse than the Gestapo" and "Put Bush's bloody dictatorship under an international tribunal."

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said on Tuesday his position on NATO membership remained unchanged and joining the alliance would be the "best response to all the basic and fundamental interests of Ukraine."

He reiterated his earlier promise to hold a referendum on NATO membership so that the "wise Ukrainians" could make their own choice.

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