By KUNA
Brussels : NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has said that the summit of the 26-member Alliance in Bucharest this week will not discuss membership of NATO for Ukraine and Georgia.
“We are discussing their possible entry in the so-called Membership Action Plan, but the principle of NATO’s open door is a sacred principle. NATO’s door is open, including for Ukraine and Georgia, if they so wish,” he told the Euronews TV here Monday night.
Russia is expressing strong opposition to NATO membership of the two former Soviet Republics.
Scheffer dismissed the Russian criticism and stressed that the “decisions on the enlargement are taken by the 26 NATO’s allies.” On a different note, he welcomed French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s recent announcement to send more troops to Afghanistan.
NATO currently has about 47 000 troops in its ISAF mission there.
Afghanistan, Kosovo, and enlargement are the three main topics that will dominate the 3-day NATO summit April 2-4.