Bush backs Ukraine, Georgia for NATO

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. President George W. Bush arrived in Romania Tuesday ready to back Ukraine and Georgia's bid to join NATO in the face of French concern that it would upset the balance of power in Europe.



According to excerpts of remarks he will make to NATO leaders at their summit here late Wednesday, Bush is also set to urge them to "finish the fight" in Afghanistan, where the alliance is struggling against a Taliban insurgency.



On a stop-over in Kiev, on his way to NATO's biggest-ever gathering, Bush said Washington wanted to see former Soviet republics Ukraine and Georgia given a Membership Action Plan (MAP) - a formal step to joining NATO.



"I strongly believe that Ukraine and Georgia should be given MAP and there's no trade-offs, period," Bush told reporters, alongside Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.



"My position is absolutely solid. Ukraine and Georgia should be given MAP."



Bush said that extending the initial invitation to Ukraine and Georgia would signal to their citizens "that if they continue on the path of democracy and reform they will be welcomed into the institutions of Europe." It would signal to the wider region, including Russia, that the two "are, and will remain, sovereign and independent states," the AFP reports.