France Against Georgia’s MAP

France will not support giving Georgia and Ukraine NATO Membership Action Plans (MAP) at the summit in Bucharest on April 2-4, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said, Reuters has reported.

“France will not give its green light to the entry of Ukraine and Georgia,” he told France-Inter radio on April 1. “We are opposed to the entry of Georgia and Ukraine because we think it is not the right response to the balance of power in Europe and between Europe and Russia, and we want to have a dialogue on this subject with Russia.”

Germany has also explicitly ruled out backing the two countries at the Bucharest summit, the Financial Times reported on April 1.

The French prime minister also said: “France has an opinion which is different from that of the United States on this question.”

U.S. President George W. Bush, meanwhile, reiterated on April 1 his support. “My position is absolutely solid: Ukraine and Georgia should be given MAP,” Bush said in Kiev after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, Victor Yushchenko.

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