NATO supports missile defense

BUCHAREST, Romania — President Bush heads into a weekend summit with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin after scoring victories at a NATO meeting yesterday, including a pathway to eventual NATO membership for two former Soviet republics and endorsement of his plan for a long-range missile defense system in Europe.

The Czech Republic yesterday formally agreed on a deal to place U.S. radar systems on its soil, to be “linked” with interceptor missiles in Poland — clearing a key diplomatic hurdle within the alliance.

Though Poland still has not formally agreed to participate, NATO backing of the plan gives Mr. Bush leverage in negotiations with the Russians, who strongly resist what they consider a threat.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called the unanimous missile defense endorsement a “breakthrough,” adding that, combined with its decision to hold out a clear prospect for eventual memberships to former Soviet republics Ukraine and Georgia, it was “a fine day for NATO.”

But Dmitry Rogozin, the Russian ambassador to NATO, doubted whether Ukraine or Georgia would be ready to begin the membership process, saying both countries had domestic problems that made their membership in the alliance problematic.

“I doubt very much that in less than a year Georgia can solve its territorial problems and Ukraine can change the current proportion of NATO sympathizers,” he said.

Mr. Putin meets with NATO leaders here today, and then hosts Mr. Bush at the Russian resort of Sochi on Sunday.

The two leaders are expected to discuss a wide-ranging bilateral cooperation accord, Russian help for NATO’s Afghanistan mission and the missile defense program. But the NATO endorsement appears to give Mr. Putin little chance of halting the system altogether.

In a separate vote, NATO also invited Croatia and Albania to join the alliance, expanding the treaty organization closer to the Russian border.

While U.S. officials insisted that Ukraine and Georgia remain on track for eventual NATO membership, Mr. Bush fell short in a bid to secure an immediate membership invitation.

Germany and France were among the European countries against admitting Ukraine and Georgia, saying it would have been an unnecessary provocation to Russia. But in a compromise, the two countries conceded that Georgian and Ukrainian membership should be a long-term NATO objective.

In December, NATO foreign ministers are expected to review giving Ukraine and Georgia a “Membership Action Plan,” or MAP.

Miss Rice said opposition from Russia, which views NATO’s spread toward its border with alarm, had little to no influence on the alliance’s handling of extending MAP invitations to Ukraine and Georgia.

National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters that Georgia and Ukraine are “clearly on the way to their membership in NATO.”

“It does not have to come back to a NATO summit,” Mr. Hadley said. “The foreign ministers have been empowered to make the decision.”

A Kremlin spokesman said, “the open door policy of NATO actually is not bringing extra stability and peace to the region.”

“We know that the American side is willing to initiate a MAP for Ukraine and Georgia as soon as possible,” Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov told The Washington Times by phone. “We don’t find it helpful for stability, for development of these countries, and also for strategic balance.”

Several NATO countries also pledged to send more troops to Afghanistan, helping to avoid a threatened pullout this year by Canada.

Macedonia’s application for membership into NATO was blocked by Greek objections to the republic’s name, a dispute which goes back almost two decades, and the Macedonian delegation stormed out of the summit meeting.

Mr. Bush urged that the Macedonia “name issue needs to be resolved quickly so that Macedonia can be welcomed into NATO as soon as possible.”