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| Bush backs Ukraine on Nato bid | Bush backs Ukraine on Nato bid |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| US President George W Bush has voiced his support for Ukraine's membership of Nato, during a visit to Kiev. | US President George W Bush has voiced his support for Ukraine's membership of Nato, during a visit to Kiev. |
| Sitting beside President Viktor Yushchenko, Mr Bush said Kiev had made a bold decision to request membership and the US "strongly supported it". | Sitting beside President Viktor Yushchenko, Mr Bush said Kiev had made a bold decision to request membership and the US "strongly supported it". |
| Mr Bush said he would press Nato allies in Romania this week to support Membership Action Plans for both Ukraine and Georgia. | Mr Bush said he would press Nato allies in Romania this week to support Membership Action Plans for both Ukraine and Georgia. |
| Russia is fiercely opposed to the eastward expansion of Nato. | Russia is fiercely opposed to the eastward expansion of Nato. |
| Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told a hearing of the lower house of the Russian parliament, the Duma, that Ukrainian membership of the Western alliance would "entail a deep crisis in Russian-Ukrainian relations". | Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told a hearing of the lower house of the Russian parliament, the Duma, that Ukrainian membership of the Western alliance would "entail a deep crisis in Russian-Ukrainian relations". |
| He said Ukraine would become a buffer between Europe and Russia. UKRAINIANS IN NATO MISSIONS Kosovo: 184 soldiersAfghanistan: 3 soldiersNato training mission in IraqMediterranean patrols in 2007 The West, he added, had to make a strategic choice because "this crisis will also affect in the most adverse way pan-European security too". | |
| French Prime Minister Francois Fillon appeared to agree with the Russian assessment during a radio interview on Tuesday. | French Prime Minister Francois Fillon appeared to agree with the Russian assessment during a radio interview on Tuesday. |
| "We think that it is not a good answer to the balance of power within Europe and between Europe and Russia," he said. | "We think that it is not a good answer to the balance of power within Europe and between Europe and Russia," he said. |
| Anti-Nato protests | Anti-Nato protests |
| A few thousand demonstrators shouted anti-Nato slogans in the centre Kiev on Monday evening before Mr Bush's arrival. | A few thousand demonstrators shouted anti-Nato slogans in the centre Kiev on Monday evening before Mr Bush's arrival. |
| Bush visit in pictures | Bush visit in pictures |
| A court ban on protests meant that number had dwindled to a few hundred as his motorcade drove through the streets on Tuesday morning. Opinion polls in Ukraine suggest there is little public support for Nato membership. | A court ban on protests meant that number had dwindled to a few hundred as his motorcade drove through the streets on Tuesday morning. Opinion polls in Ukraine suggest there is little public support for Nato membership. |
| After his trip to Kiev, President Bush will travel to Nato's annual summit to press the case for eastern expansion. He will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday. | After his trip to Kiev, President Bush will travel to Nato's annual summit to press the case for eastern expansion. He will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday. |
| The US president was welcomed by an honour guard before talks with President Yushchenko during which Mr Bush said they "spent a lot of time talking about Nato". | The US president was welcomed by an honour guard before talks with President Yushchenko during which Mr Bush said they "spent a lot of time talking about Nato". |
| President Bush said that Russia would not have a veto over Kiev's role in Nato. He said Ukraine was currently the only non-Nato member supporting every Nato mission. | President Bush said that Russia would not have a veto over Kiev's role in Nato. He said Ukraine was currently the only non-Nato member supporting every Nato mission. |
| The Ukrainian leader was critical of Moscow's attempts to stop his country joining the alliance. | The Ukrainian leader was critical of Moscow's attempts to stop his country joining the alliance. |
| "I don't want the basic, fundamental principle... of open doors to the alliance to be changed for, excuse me, the veto power of a nation that is not a member of the alliance," Mr Yushchenko said. | "I don't want the basic, fundamental principle... of open doors to the alliance to be changed for, excuse me, the veto power of a nation that is not a member of the alliance," Mr Yushchenko said. |
| Are you in Ukraine? What's your reaction to President Bush's visit? Do you support Nato membership? Send us your comments by filling out the form below: | Are you in Ukraine? What's your reaction to President Bush's visit? Do you support Nato membership? Send us your comments by filling out the form below: |