Yee haw!
Bush Vows to Support Efforts
By Ukraine to Join NATO
Associated Press
April 1, 2008 6:15 a.m.
KIEV, Ukraine -- President Bush said Tuesday he will work "as hard as I can" to help Ukraine join NATO and declared that Russia won't be able to veto former Soviet states joining the trans-Atlantic military alliance.
"Your nation has made a bold decision and the United States strongly supports your request," Mr. Bush told Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko after talks at the Presidential Secretariat in Kiev.
Mr. Bush praised Ukraine's democratic and military reforms, and noted that Ukraine "is the only non-NATO nation supporting every NATO mission." He suggested that embracing Ukraine was "in the interests of our organization." Ukraine has sent troops to Afghanistan, Kosovo and Iraq.
[President Bush lent his support to Ukrainian's NATO ambitions during a meeting with President Victor Yushchenko]
Associated Press
President Bush lent his support to Ukrainian's NATO ambitions during a two-day visit, telling President Victor Yushchenko, "Your nation has made a bold decision."
The U.S. president's brief visit to Kiev was meant to be a show of support for the country's NATO ambitions before the alliance's summit later this week in Bucharest, Romania. Ukraine is hoping NATO members will vote to give it a so-called membership action plan, or MAP, which outlines what a country needs to do to join and is a precursor to a membership invitation. Georgia also wants the same treatment.
"In Bucharest this week, I will continue to make America's position clear: we support MAP for Ukraine and Georgia," Mr. Bush said. "My stop here should be a clear signal to everybody that I mean what I say: It's in our interest for Ukraine to join."
Mr. Yushchenko said he was confident the summit would further the process. "I am sure that we will receive a positive signal in Bucharest, and that's the spirit that we are going there with," the Ukrainian leader said.
Among the biggest obstacle in Ukraine's path to NATO membership is Russia. With nine former Soviet bloc countries already members, NATO countries abut some of Russia's borders and Moscow fiercely opposes further eastward expansion of the military alliance that it denounces as a Cold War relic. (See related article.)
As a result, Germany and France have spoken out against putting Ukraine on the list just yet. They fear further straining ties with Russia, which is a major supplier of energy to Europe. But Mr. Bush said Moscow should not -- and would not -- have the last word.
"Every nation has told me Russia will not have a veto over what happens in Bucharest. I take their word for it," he said. "I wouldn't prejudge the outcome just yet, the vote will be taken in Bucharest."
Mr. Bush said it was a "misperception" that the U.S. might soften its push to get Ukraine and Georgia into NATO if Russia backs off its opposition to the U.S. plan for a new missile defense system based in Central Europe.
A senior Russian diplomat warned Tuesday that Ukraine's accession to NATO would cause a "deep crisis" in its relations with Moscow. Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin also said the alliance's inclusion of Ukraine would badly hurt Western relations with Russia.
Mr. Bush is meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi, and White House officials have expressed some optimism that the two leaders could reach a deal on the bitter missile defense dispute. But Mr. Bush insisted Tuesday there would be "no trade-offs. Period."
"As a matter of fact, I told President Putin that in my phone call to him recently," Mr. Bush said, and repeated his stance that the missile-defense shield is meant to counter a threat from a rogue Middle East nation.
Mr. Putin has remained wary, however, and in recent months has stepped up his anti-American rhetoric, demanding that the U.S. abandon the plan to base components of the missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, two former Soviet satellites. He has complained it would upset the balance of power and is aimed at weakening Russia -- charges the U.S. has denied.
The face-to-face meeting between Messers. Bush and Putin is expected to be their last as presidents of their countries.
Mr. Bush was cautiously optimistic Tuesday about the meeting.
"Obviously, we've got a lot of work to do to allay suspicions and old fears, but I think we're making pretty good progress along those lines," he said.
In recent days, there have been signs of progress toward resolving the dispute. Bush sent Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Moscow with concessions to ease Russia's concerns. Mr. Bush also sent a personal letter to Mr. Putin, and a Russian delegation spent several days in Washington last week working on the problem.
"I've worked with him for eight years. We've had an interesting relationship," Mr. Bush said of Mr. Putin. "I like him. He's a person that has been a strong leader for Russia."
Ukraine was showcasing its best side during Mr. Bush's visit. A formal welcoming ceremony featured the playing of national anthems and a parade of high-stepping military men in long, belted dress coats with fur collars. Both are typical of the greetings Mr. Bush gets all over the world, but these arrival rites took on particular importance here because of Ukraine's drive to join NATO.
Ukraine had long flirted with joining the alliance, but it started taking real steps toward meeting the alliance's military and political standards only after Mr. Yushchenko became president in the wake of 2004 street protests, called the Orange Revolution.
Since then, Ukraine has gained a vibrant opposition, a robust media and has held a series of elections. It also has set out to modernize its Soviet-style military, including creating an all-volunteer army and changing troop deployment and training to meet NATO standards. Kiev abandoned customs and practices that date to Soviet and even Czarist Russia times, such as using soldiers for kitchen duty and outfitting them in cumbersome footwear. It also sought to prove itself by deploying troops to Iraq in 2003-2005 and sending peacekeepers to Kosovo and Lebanon.
Remaining problems, however, range from rampant corruption to constant political turmoil, which has caused a stream of government shake-ups and early elections over the past years.
"In my opinion, there are no alternatives to the idea of collective security and I believe that collective responsibility for security policy, or defense policy, is the best response to the challenges that currently exist in society and in the international system," Mr. Yushchenko said.
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