Rice says NATO must leave door open to Ukraine

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday indicated Washington's support for Ukraine's bid to join NATO, said a U.S. official, in a move likely to anger Russia.

Ukraine's Western-leaning leadership this month wrote to NATO asking it to accept the country into the Membership Action Plan, a step toward accession.

In a meeting with Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Rice discussed internal developments in Ukraine as well as their bid to join the military alliance, said the official traveling with Rice.

"The secretary reiterated the U.S. view that NATO should leave the door open to those European, democratic states who meet membership requirements," said the official after Rice's meeting with Yushchenko.

Russia views with deep misgivings NATO's military expansion towards Russia's borders and said this week that former Soviet republic Ukraine's membership bid would have serious implications for relations between neighbors.

In hard-hitting comments on Wednesday, Russian's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there was no security justification for enlargement of NATO, and that the expansion plan was a throwback to the Cold War.

The U.S. official said Rice also talked about Ukraine's negotiations for entry into the World Trade Organization.

Ukraine has relied on Washington for support in its entry bid into the WTO. Their accession bid is expected to be endorsed next month unless there are any last minute technical objections to it.

(Reporting by Sue Pleming; Editing by Ralph Boulton)