Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili warned NATO countries not to appease Russia by rejecting his country's hopes to join the alliance.
He held out hopes after a White House meeting on Wednesday that US President George W. Bush can persuade NATO allies to put Georgia on a membership track when Bush attends NATO's summit in Bucharest, Romania, next month.
Bush has been a strong supporter of Georgia's aspirations, but he is expected to meet resistance from some European leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Georgia's chances of joining a program that would prepare it for eventual membership will hinge on winning unanimous support of the 26 member countries.
"I don't think it's a done deal yet," Saakashvili said in a speech organized by the Atlantic Council, a group that promotes close US-European ties. "The US is engaged at the highest level; so are all east and central Europeans and some big northern and western countries."
Bush said he would press the issue at the summit.
"I believe that NATO benefits with a Georgia membership. I believe Georgia benefits from being a part of NATO," Bush said at a joint appearance with Saakashvili.
Merkel recently signaled her opposition, arguing against membership for countries "that are entangled in regional conflicts."
That was a reference to differences with Russia over Georgia's two breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Both regions have had de-facto independence since wars in the 1990s, when Russian peacekeepers were deployed to observe ceasefires. No country recognizes their governments, although Moscow has tacitly supported their autonomy by granting most of their residents Russian passports and maintaining trade ties.
Moscow has been vexed by Saakashvili's efforts to integrate closely into the West and join NATO.
Saakashvili, who has a law degree from Columbia University's law school, said that NATO countries should not give Russia a veto or try to appease Moscow by blocking Georgia from joining the alliance.
"Basically what it says is non-NATO members have veto rights over NATO decisions," he said at the Atlantic Council.
He said efforts to resolve differences with Russia over Abkhazia and South Ossetia had become entangled in Russia's disagreement with Western nations over Kosovo. Russia has warned that Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia last month and the West's recognition of it could fuel other separatist movements.
"After Kosovo, the Russians told us very clearly, this is no longer about you and us, it's about us and the West," Saakashvili said.
Saakashvili was to meet yesterday US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who have just returned from Moscow.
The boost from Washington for Georgia's NATO aspirations comes only months after the US and other Western countries criticized a brutal police crackdown Nov. 7 against an opposition rally in Tbilisi. After the violence, Saakashvili called an early presidential vote to ease tensions.
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