NATO To Continue Open Doors Policy – Sec Gen

Ukraine and Georgia will be NATO members if they want to and if they meet the necessary criteria, Rasmussen said after a meeting with Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi.

He added it is Ukraine's duty to decide how its relationship with NATO will develop over the next years, and the same goes for Georgia. Rasmussen added the Alliance's position concerning the two countries, decided at the Bucharest summit in 2008, remains unchanged.

The NATO secretary general, who is on a two-day official visit to Romania, added the Alliance will continue its open doors policy as regards Balkan countries and would like all states in the area to join the European Union and NATO.

"The MAP (Membership Action Plan) does not guarantee future NATO membership but it is a framework and an opportunity for a country to take the path of reform to meet the criteria required for membership," Rasmussen said.

At the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest, Ukraine and Georgia were denied green light for the Membership Action Plan despite support offered by the U.S., met with fierce opposition by Britain, France and Germany.

However, the two countries were assured they would one day join the alliance if they meet membership criteria and summit's final declaration stated both countries will become members of the Alliance but without indicating a date.

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