(Adds details, Yushchenko quotes)
By Matt Spetalnick
KIEV, April 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush
vowed on Tuesday to press for Ukraine and Georgia to be allowed
to start the process of joining NATO despite resistance from
Russia and scepticism from the alliance's European members.
Bush, in Kiev on his way to his farewell NATO summit in
Romania, said Moscow had no right to veto bids by the two
ex-Soviet states. There was no link between their ambitions and
a planned U.S. missile defence system in Europe, he added.
Washington has long lobbied for Ukraine and Georgia to be
granted Membership Action Plans (MAP) at the Bucharest summit.
Russia strongly opposes the bids on grounds that NATO is
intruding on its sphere of influence. And as Bush began talks
with Ukraine's pro-Western president, France said it would
oppose the bid by the two ex-Soviet states.
But Bush underscored his resolve to back the applications.
"Your nation has made a bold decision, and the United States
strongly supports your request," Bush told a news conference
alongside Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.
"In Bucharest this week, I will continue to make America's
position clear. We support MAP for Ukraine and Georgia. Helping
Ukraine move towards NATO membership is in the interest of every
member in the alliance and will help advance security and
freedom in this region and around the world."
NATO states had told Bush that "Russia will not have a veto
over what happens next in Bucharest and I take their word for
it. And that's the right policy to have."
He dismissed as a "misperception" any trade-off -- shelving
support for MAP bids to win agreement to deploy interceptor
rockets and a radar in Poland and the Czech Republic.
"I strongly believe that Ukraine and Georgia should be given
MAP (Membership Action Plans) and there's no tradeoffs. Period."
MISSILE DEFENCE
Bush said he had made that clear to Russian President
Vladimir Putin. He hoped proposals to make the missile defence
system more transparent would yield progress at his weekend
meeting with Putin at the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Yushchenko said Ukraine had made a clear choice on NATO.
"I can see no other way forward for our nation," he said.
"You will forgive me, but I would not like to see the key,
fundamental principle of the Alliance's activity, open doors, to
be replaced by a veto for a country which is not even a member."
But Ukraine's bid to secure a MAP, the first stage in the
long process of joining NATO, faces low public support at home
as well as resistance in Russia and western Europe.
In central Kiev, a few hundred protesters defied a court ban
and shouted anti-NATO slogans in Independence Square -- focal
point of the 2004 "Orange Revolution" protests that swept
Yushchenko to power. Some 5,000 had massed there on Monday.
For many Ukrainians, joining NATO is not a priority -- only
30 percent of respondents in the ex-Soviet state support it.
The Regions Party of Former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich
appealed to NATO states to turn down the Ukrainian request.
"Approval would spark protests by millions," it said. "Those
in Europe and across the ocean must be told -- Ukraine is not
ready for MAP."
France and Germany have resisted granting a MAP on the
grounds that both states have yet to achieve political stability
and that the process would unnecessarily antagonise Russia.
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon told French radio
Paris was opposed "because we think it is not the right response
to the balance of power in Europe and between Europe and Russia,
and we want to have a dialogue on this subject with Russia".
Moscow will be watching developments carefully.
Officials there say President Vladimir Putin, also attending
the NATO summit as a guest, is ready to tell the alliance that
Russia wants to work with the West -- but also wants NATO to
take full account of its opposition to MAP for both countries.
(Writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by Charles Dick)
