Ukraine and Georgia face uphill battle on NATO bid

By Paul Taylor and Mark John

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Ukraine and Georgia face an uphill battle on Wednesday to persuade NATO nations to put the two ex-Soviet states on the path to membership, as Germany and France lead resistance to their U.S.-backed bids.

President George W. Bush vowed on the eve of a NATO summit in Bucharest to press their case but a core of European states insist the duo are not ready for a step which they fear would exacerbate tensions with Russia.

"I don't think they are going to make it," said one official in the Canadian delegation, which has joined Washington and NATO's ex-communist members in supporting their request for a Membership Action Plan, a gateway to eventual membership.

In the most explicit expression of France's skepticism yet, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Tuesday that Paris would oppose giving Kiev and Tbilisi a MAP to avoid upsetting the balance of power with Russia. Germany shares those objections.

Setting the stage for a genuine cliff-hanger of a summit, a final decision is only expected to emerge during a dinner on Wednesday where Bush -- attending his farewell NATO summit -- will meet Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Nicolas Sarkozy.

One senior NATO diplomat believed the prospect of agreement on membership plans at the summit was already lost and expected the United States to change tack and seek firm commitments that the two should not have to wait too much longer.

"The real issue now is how hard the United States will try to push for France and Germany to make a commitment to MAP (for Ukraine and Georgia) in 2009," said the diplomat.

However, others warned against writing off their chances, given the United States' knack in the past of cajoling European allies into line at the last minute, as when Serbia unexpectedly won a partnership pact at the 2006 NATO summit.