No MAP for Ukraine, Georgia

At its two-day summit last week, NATO agreed to resume ties with Russia, which were suspended during the country's August war with Georgia. It was also agreed at the meeting that Ukraine and Georgia would not be offered membership action plans (MAPs).

Relations between NATO and Russia will resume via mid-level talks, but the NATO-Russia Council will not be reinstated yet.

A US bid to grant MAPs to Ukraine and Georgia was opposed by some Western European countries, despite support for the idea from Central and Eastern European member states. Continuing volatility in both countries was cited as a reason to leave plans unchanged for now, and some observers noted that nations like Germany and France are not eager to provoke Russia, a major supplier of energy to Europe. The nations denied this criticism, however.

"It was not exactly the problem for Russia that we considered. On the contrary, it was the problem for NATO and Georgia. We had to set up a common position between several nations and several opinions and we did. That is to say that progress has been made between NATO and Georgia, but still it remains a lot of progress to be done," French Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Kouchner told the press last week.

In her final NATO meeting, outgoing US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tried to put a positive spin on the decision.

"We did not take up the issue of a MAP for Ukraine and Georgia. A lot has transpired since [the April summit in Bucharest], we reaffirmed Bucharest and all of its elements. But what we did do here is, which is very important, is to empower the commissions - the NATO-Georgia commission and the NATO-Ukraine commission - to intensify their work in helping these states to make progress," she said.

Rice added, "Everyone knows that this is going to be a long process."