NATO is not ready to accept Ukraine

The discussion on letters from Ukraine and Georgia concerning their wish to join in the NATO Membership Action Plan appeared to be fruitless. The member-countries' foreign ministers holding an informal meeting in Brussels Thursday passed no decisions on Ukraine's entry in the Plan, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer says, according to government press service.

At the same time, Scheffer noted that NATO's door remains open. Only Alliance members, and no one else, will decide who may enter that door; no third countries may veto those decisions, the Secretary General stated.

He added that the discussion between NATO member-countries on accession of Ukraine and Georgia to the Membership Action Plan will continue until a start of the Bucharest summit, which is scheduled for April 2 - 4.