NATO turns down Georgia and Ukraine

NATO decided yesterday not to put Georgia and Ukraine on track to join the alliance after vehement Russian opposition, but the alliance pledged that the strategically important Black Sea nations will become members one day.

Senior American officials also said that Nato leaders agreed to fully endorse US missile defence plans for Europe, and urged Russia to drop its objections to the system.

French and German concern over Russia’s reaction dashed the two former Soviet republics’ hopes of being granted a “membership action plan” that would bring them into the alliance within the next five to 10 years.