Georgia says NATO "no" would fuel conflicts

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Failure by NATO to offer Georgia a membership plan at a summit next week would be seen by Russia as a victory and fuel separatist conflicts in Georgia, the foreign minister of the Caucasus state said on Wednesday.

David Bakradze said after talks at NATO that some European capitals remained skeptical about offering it and fellow ex-Soviet republic Ukraine a Membership Action Plan (MAP) at the April 2-4 summit, but urged them to be firm with Moscow.

Bakradze said a "no" to Georgia would show Moscow it could exercise an indirect veto over which countries could join NATO and show the success of its encouragement of so-called frozen conflicts in two breakaway Georgian regions backed by Russia.

"A no in Bucharest will have very, very threatening and negative implications for conflict resolution," he told reporters before the meetings.

"It will be very clearly seen that this policy of creating problems works ... and then we will have zero chances to resolve those conflicts peacefully and it will encourage those in Moscow who think it is better to maintain those conflicts."

Speaking after he met envoys of the 26 NATO nations, Bakradze said some of them still had doubts about granting Georgia a MAP in Bucharest but said he had been encouraged.

"I think it went very well ... there is no discussion about the question of whether (a MAP should be offered)," he said.

President George W. Bush said this month he would urge NATO allies to begin the membership process for Georgia at the summit, but he faces west European resistance in the face of strong Russian opposition.

When NATO foreign ministers met earlier this month, diplomats said 11 west European countries including France, Germany, Italy, Norway and Portugal spoke against giving Kiev and Tbilisi membership plans now.

NO INTERIM DEAL

They have concerns over Georgia's frozen conflicts and its imposition of a state of emergency and media clampdown in the face of opposition protests last year. The low level of public support for NATO in Ukraine is also a major hurdle.

Diplomats said one of the skeptical NATO countries had since indicated it would not stand in the way of a MAP offer for the two, but said others were sticking to their position.

On Tuesday, Russian president-elect Dmitry Medvedev maintained pressure on NATO not to grant membership to Georgia or Ukraine, saying this would undermine European security.

Bakradze rejected concerns that granting Georgia a membership plan could inflame ties between Russia and the West. He argued that the transition in the Russian presidency from Vladimir Putin to Medvedev presented a "window of opportunity".

"Now it a unique time when there is no longer an old president and not yet the new president, so there is no personality in Russia who can take NATO's enlargement as his personal failure."

Medvedev will be sworn in to succeed Putin in May.

Bakradze insisted Georgia was not interested in accepting an interim agreement leading to a future offer of MAP, as has been mooted by some diplomats as a possible move.

"It is not a serious option for us. Either there is MAP or there is no MAP," he said.

(Additional reporting by Mark John; editing by Andrew Roche)