Russia has viewed the expansion as a direct threat to its security and its status as a regional power, but has been unable to stop the attempt.
President Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia would aim its warheads at Ukraine if its neighbor joins NATO and endorses the deployment of anti-missile defense system on its territory.
Russian president-elect Dmitry Medvedev warned in a recent interview with the Financial Times that granting NATO membership to Ukraine and Georgia would threaten European security.
"No state can be pleased about having representatives of a military bloc to which it does not belong coming close to its borders," said Medvedev.
Europe's divisions
Another major obstacle comes from differences between so-called "old" and "new" Europe on Ukraine's bid for NATO membership.
Some western European countries, such as Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands and Spain, are reluctant to grant MAP invitations to Ukraine and Georgia at the Bucharest summit for fear that further expansion would anger Russia.
"We are of the view that the time is not ripe to offer them the membership action plan ... because a number of points still need to be clarified," said German government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm on Monday.
During her visit to Russia on March 8, German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed caution over NATO's eastward expansion, hinting that the low popularity would be a major problem to Ukraine's NATO drive.
But in a letter to NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the nine new NATO members, namely Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic, plus Canada, urged the military bloc to overcome splits and open the door to Ukraine and Georgia at the Bucharest summit.
The two ex-Soviet republics would not be granted MAP unless all the 26 NATO members reach a consensus on the issue at the upcoming summit. But Bush's visit seems unlikely to iron out differences between the so-called "old" and "new" Europe, analysts said.
(Xinhua News Agency April 1, 2008)
