Statementby the NATO Secretary General on Abkhazia and South Ossetia

I am deeply concerned by the actions Russia has taken to establish legal links with the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
NATO Allies, at their recent Summit in Bucharest, reiterated their support for the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of Georgia. The Russian steps undermine that sovereignty. I urge the Russian Federation to reverse these measures, and call on the Georgian authorities to continue to show restraint.

NATO welcomes Georgia's and Ukraine's Aspirations for Membership to Accession Talks

At the Bucharest Summit, NATO Allies welcomed Ukraine's and Georgia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership and agreed that these countries will become members of NATO.
They also agreed that both nations have made valuable contributions to Alliance operations, and welcomed democratic reforms in Ukraine and Georgia.
The Membership Action Plan (MAP) is the next step for the two countries on their direct way to membership.
Allies made clear that they support Georgia's and Ukraine's applications for MAP. Allies also said NATO will now begin a period of intensive engagement with both countries at high political level to address the questions still outstanding regarding their MAP applications. NATO Foreign Ministers were asked to make a first assessment of progress at their December 2008 meeting.

For Balkans NATO’s Door is Open, but for Georgia and Ukraine it's still “the Alliance of their Dreams”

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at the conference on “NATO’s Bucharest Summit – transformation of the Alliance and Polish and regional perspectives” in Warsaw, declared that NATO had open door for Balkans, what concerns to Georgia and Ukraine, he emphasized that Europe would not have common position until they would not reach required conditions and would not be master of their own future.
“I have mentioned NATO’s open door in connection with the Balkans, but I want to emphasise it again. Because there are other countries, too, that wish to join NATO – like Ukraine and Georgia. As long as there is a gap between where countries are and where they want to be, the unification of Europe will not be complete. And as long as some countries feel that they are not entirely masters of their own future, not least because others try to deny them their free choice, Europe is not the common space that we want it to be. And so I believe our Bucharest Summit should also send a clear signal to Ukraine and Georgia that NATO’s door remains open”, Scheffer said.

Merkel Against NATO Membership of States with Conflicts

Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor reported Bloomberg that “enmeshed in regional conflicts shouldn't try to become [NATO] members.”
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German foreign minister, said on March 6 that he remained “skeptical” about Georgia’s and Ukraine’s chances of joining the NATO Membership Action Plan, Deutsche Welle reported.