President Bush welcomes eastern European countries to Nato
President Bush welcomed European countries into Nato in speech at Bucharest
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Wednesday, 02, Apr 2008 06:27
George Bush has said the US would welcome Georgia and Ukraine into Nato as he outlined his country's ambitions for the alliance.
The American president is in the Romanian capital Bucharest alongside other world leaders for the final Nato summit of his White House administration.
"Here in Bucharest, we must make clear that Nato welcomes the aspirations of Georgia and Ukraine for their membership in Nato and offers them a clear path forward to meet that goal," Mr Bush said.
"So my country's position is clear: Nato should welcome Georgia and Ukraine into the Membership Action Plan."
Mr Bush added: "And Nato membership must remain open to all of Europe's democracies that seek it, and are ready to share in the responsibilities of Nato membership."
Russia is not keen on expanding Nato membership, and a US plan to deploy a missile defence shield in eastern Europe has drawn protests from Moscow.
The US wants defences in the region to guard against an attack from Iran or North Korea.
But Russian president Vladimir Putin has objected to the missiles sited in Poland, on the grounds they could be used against Russia.
Mr Bush said when he meets Mr Putin this week he will "reiterate that the missile defence capabilities we are developing are not designed to defend against Russia - just as the new Nato we are building is not designed to defend against Russia."