NATO OFFERS GEORGIA, UKRAINE "INTENSIVE ENGAGEMENT"

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.04.2008 13:53 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ NATO’s chief has reassured Ukraine and Georgia that
there’s "not a sliver of a doubt" the two ex-Soviet republics will
join the alliance before long.

"We agreed that these countries will become members of NATO," Jaap
de Hoop Scheffer said after intense morning discussions in Bucharest
that lasted several hours more than anticipated.

In what was seen as a hard-fought compromise, the secretary general
said NATO and the two applicants would begin political discussions ‘at
the highest level’ leading up to a December meeting of NATO foreign
ministers, who will be entrusted with the power to decide on whether
to offer them MAPs.

De Hoop Scheffer also called on Ukraine to go ahead with democratic
reforms and said NATO leaders were looking forward to the staging of
fair elections in Georgia in May.

By way of consolation, Scheffer said NATO would offer Georgia and
Ukraine "intensive engagement," the AP reports.