CRI听力：NATO Keeps Georgia, Ukraine in the Cold

Ukraine and Georgia's bids for joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Membership Action Plan or MAP were thwarted at the NATO summit held in the Romanian capital, Bucharest. European allies fear that the move would enrage Russia.

NATO secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer says the alliance is entering a very important phase in its relations with Ukraine.(www.hxen.net)

He made the comment after a summit meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission.

''We will begin a period of intensive engagement with both countries at a high political level to address the questions outstanding pertaining to the MAP application….Yesterday's decision was not a stand alone event, but I think that it was the launch of a process that will lead to Ukrainian membership in NATO.''

Despite a strong push from United States President George W. Bush, leaders failed to reach consensus on MAP membership approval. It's a program that puts NATO aspiring countries on the path toward full membership.

The leaders decided to leave the issue for the meeting of their foreign ministers in December.

There is strong opposition to NATO membership for Ukraine, especially in the Russian-speaking areas, while the government of Georgia does not control its breakaway regions.

Russia has warned that NATO membership for the two former Soviet republics would bring instability, even war, to the region.(wwW.hxen.net)