A meeting of NATO foreign ministers will be held in Tallinn on December 2-3. Its agenda includes provision of the NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP) to Georgia and Ukraine. Membership of these countries in the Alliance already became not only an agenda item but actual problem for the member states. As the matter of fact despite all requests of Presidents M. Saakashvili and V. Yuschenko NATO as far back as April 3 this year made a decision to postpone MAP provision to Georgia and Ukraine until December. In the opinion of certain political analysts today unity of the Alliance itself depends upon a method of this problem solution.

The answer to the puzzle is quite simple: NATO lacks common opinion on this issue. The USA, Poland and Baltic countries stand for an accelerated procedure of Georgia’s and Ukraine’s admission. They want to avoid the MAP, which is a key stage of the NATO admission procedure. In so doing, it is necessary to take into account that the accelerated NATO admission procedure for Ukraine and Georgia is lobbied by the actual US administration, which is leaving the White House on January 20, 2009. After two months the team of President G. Bush, Jr. will not bear any responsibility for political and economic realties of 2009 and subsequent years.

Germany and France stand flatly against. They are supported by Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands. Moreover, even Daniel Fried, Assistant US Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, claimed on November 25 that it will take years to invite Ukraine and Georgia to NATO. “NATO still intends to render assistance to the republics in their membership in the Alliance. However, if we see things in a more objective light neither Ukraine nor Georgia is ready, and they themselves understand it”. This opinion is also shared by certain US Congressmen and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

The Presidents of Georgia and Ukraine likewise their most zealous apologists are just eager to the Alliance. For example, Georgian State Minister for Reintegration T. Yakobashvili claimed in Tbilisi: “Georgia should not hang up on the MAP. The problem of the MAP has too strong political overtone. We need to find other more effective options for integration into the Alliance”. According to Security Council Secretary K. Lomaya “2009 will be a very important year in the process of rapprochement of Georgia with NATO and its integration into the Alliance”. Deputy Defense Minister B. Kuteliya recently claimed that Tbilisi will continue “cooperation with NATO within those formats and programmes, which will be offered by the Alliance leadership”.

Ukraine launched an SMS quiz on NATO. During two weeks everybody may check his/her knowledge about the North Atlantic Treaty thru his/her mobile phone. Question No.1 of the quiz arouses admiration: “How many bombs have been dropped on Serbia?” The quiz was initiated by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry together with the NATO Information and Documentation Center in Ukraine. Frankly speaking a majority of Ukrainians takes no interest in this organization. According to Razumkov Center almost 47 per cent of the Ukrainian population take no interest in NATO. However Foreign Minister V. Ogryzko claimed that the Cabinet of Ministers approved targeted plan Ukraine-NATO for 2009. According to him, the Plan includes about 400 various events aimed at adjustment of the Ukrainian army and defense system to the NATO standards. Ogryzko said that this Plan may be for the first time agreed upon even before the year of its implementation, and it substantially differs from the NATO Membership Action Plan, which according to the Minister contains more rigid constraints.

Recently there was a news in the press that the Ukrainian Defense Ministry relocates certain military units and first of all air-defense systems to the eastern part of the country. Is it also stipulated in the Ukraine-NATO plan? As a comedy star said, it is a rather interesting question. Whatever you may say but only UPA old monsters and their young “wolf boys” may seriously think about a war between peoples of Russia and Ukraine. Or is it President Yuschenko who made up his mind “to run before the horse” and started implementing the NATO plans even before admission to the Alliance? Somebody believes that these troops will be used to suppress unrest of the population in the eastern regions if this population bucks against the decisions and actions of the ruling power.

There may be different assumptions but one thing is clear. Membership of Georgia and Ukraine in NATO would bring nothing good to Georgians, Ukrainians or Russians. We lived in a single family too long to see each other through a gun sight. Whatever they may say about the NATO peaceful intentions, Russia cannot believe in these statements while the Alliance troops are approaching to our borders. Ukraine’s membership in the Alliance would mean withdrawal of this country from the CIS, separation of the people inhibiting our countries with a strongly guarded border, etc. One may ask: Do common Ukrainians, Russians and Georgians need it?