NATO door still open to Ukraine, Georgia-spokesman

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - NATO allies agreed on Wednesday that Ukraine and Georgia would eventually be put on a path to joining the alliance, a NATO spokesman said, but he said he did not expect them to be given a Membership Action Plan at this week's summit.

Briefing reporters after a crucial dinner discussion among the 26 allied leaders, spokesman James Appathurai said: "The general sense was that MAP is a matter not of whether but of when."

But when asked whether there was still a chance the formal summit session on Thursday could take such a decision, he added: "I do not expect it to be tomorrow."

(Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach, writing by Paul Taylor)