President Bush’s plan to build a missile-defense shield in Europe won approval from NATO at yesterday’s Bucharest summit meetings, marking an important victory for the U.S. agenda and for American hopes of getting Moscow to ease its opposition. But the summit balked at U.S. pressure to start an admission process for Ukraine and Georgia as premature and liable to raise tensions with Russia.

The planned ballistic missile-defense system involves 10 interceptor missiles based in Poland and a tracking radar site in the Czech Republic. Poland and the Czech Republic are pleased to announce the completion of negotiations on a missile defense agreement,” says a joint statement by the two countries, issued on the fringes of the NATO summit in Bucharest (3 April).

In endorsing the project, a statement by the 26 nations alliance said that the system “will be linked to other US missile defense facilities in Europe and the US.” In addition according to NATO’s Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the alliance will “develop options for a comprehensive missile defense architecture to extend coverage to all ally territory and population not otherwise covered by the US system.” These areas – including Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria and Romania – would not be protected by the missile shield as currently planned. In addition, plans are under discussion about how a NATO-focused network of defenses against short-and-medium-range missiles could be “bolted onto” the planned U.S. shield supposed to operate against long-range attacks.

The U.S. was less successful in its bid to gain NATO admission for the former Soviet republics of Georgia and Ukraine. The alliance moved to admit Croatia and Albania, but Germany and France led opposition to Bush’s push to expand the alliance into Georgia and Ukraine with a “membership action plan (MAP),” arguing that such a move would unduly provoke Russia, which has vehemently opposed the idea. Most NATO governments also take the view that both these countries have internal troubles – separatism in Georgia, a deep split about Russia in Ukraine – that could become problematical if they were put officially on track to NATO membership. (more…)

Incoming Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had some strong words for Western leaders in an interview with the Financial Times today. Amid President Bush’s recent statements in support of expanding the NATO alliance to include Georgia and reports that Ukraine is also taking steps towards NATO membership, Medvedev said that Russia is “not happy” about the prospect of eastward NATO expansion.

From today’s FT:

His comments, in an interview with the Financial Times, will step up pressure on the alliance not to allow the two states to join Nato’s “membership action plan” at a summit in Bucharest next week. Vladimir Putin, outgoing Russian president, is due to attend part of the summit. …

“We are not happy about the situation around Georgia and Ukraine. We consider that it is extremely troublesome for the existing structure of European security,” Mr Medvedev said during a two-hour interview, his first since winning Russia’s presidential election on March 2.

“No state can be pleased about having representatives of a military bloc to which it does not belong coming close to its borders.”

Mr Medvedev also suggested joining the military alliance was against most Ukrainians’ wishes, as opinion polls have shown.

“This is … even more difficult to explain when the vast majority of citizens of … Ukraine, are categorically against joining Nato, while the government … follows a different policy,” he said.

Medvedev’s comments come in the wake of statements by Georgian officials that they fear Russia is planning to annex the Georgian separatist region of Abkhazia. NATO member states will meet next week in Bucharest for their annual summit, where they will discuss possible membership for the former Soviet territories. Medvedev officially takes over as president on May 7.

Medvedev’s video interview with the FT is available on their website. A full transcript is also available.

Related Posts:
Can Europe Stay Out of the Geopolitical Face-Off Between the US and Russia?, 21 March 2008
European Officials Fear Russian Meddling in Georgian Separatist Region of Abkhazia, 11 March 2008

See Also:
Medvedev warns against expanding Nato east, Financial Times, 25 March 2008
Bush backs closer NATO ties with Georgia, Reuters, 19 March 2008
Ukraine says Bush to visit before NATO summit, Reuters, 13 March 2008