http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200804/20080403012381.html
北約邀阿爾巴尼亞克羅埃西亞加入
法新社╱鄭詩韻 2008-04-03 10:35
（法新社布加勒斯特二日電）北大西洋公約組織今天晚間同意，邀請阿爾巴尼亞與克羅埃西亞進入他們的軍事同盟，但其他三國加入的希望已暫時被擱置。
這些領導人在北約歷來最大的工作晚餐會上，無法就是否允許喬治亞與烏克蘭朝進入北約踏出關鍵一步達成共識，希臘則已準備否決馬其頓的會籍。
但法國有好消息傳出，法國承諾增派軍隊到阿富汗，加拿大由於在阿富汗對抗塔利班叛軍死傷日增，決定於明年撤軍引發的憂慮隨之結束。
北約首席發言人阿帕蘇萊伊說：「現在可以說，對邀請三國中的兩國展開入籍會談有共識。」
他離開晚餐會後又表示：「聯盟內也一致認為，第三個國家前南斯拉夫馬其頓共和國，應盡快獲得展開入會會談的機會。」
阿爾巴尼亞、克羅埃西亞與馬其頓一直積極奔走，想在高峰會上接受邀請，加入這個二十六國聯盟，官員與外交人士也表示，這三國已達加入的技術標準。
但馬其頓的目標，持續受到不滿其官方名稱的希臘挑戰。
希臘拒絕承認馬其頓的名稱，因為希臘北部也有一個馬其頓省，他們擔心這樣會代表馬其頓對其領土有所有權。
馬其頓在憲法上的名稱是馬其頓共和國，他們希望在與希臘來往之外的國際關係上使用這個名稱，而他們與希臘兩國，可以找出雙方都接受的名字。
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080402/wl_afp/natosummit_080402221045;_ylt=ApJnznElvws56g7nW41luL2QOrgF
NATO to invite in Albania, Croatia but little hope for others
by Lorne Cook
Wed Apr 2, 6:10 PM ET
BUCHAREST (AFP) - NATO leaders agreed late Wednesday to invite Albania and Croatia into their military alliance, but the hopes of three other aspiring nations appeared to have been put on the back-burner.
At a working dinner at their summit in Bucharest, NATO's biggest ever, the leaders failed to reach consensus on whether allow Georgia and Ukraine to take a key step toward entry, while Greece was ready to veto Macedonia's membership.
But there was good news from France, which committed new troops to Afghanistan and thus ended fears that Canada would withdraw its contingent next year as casualties mount in the fight against Taliban insurgents.
On membership question, chief NATO spokesman James Appathurai said: "It is safe to say that at the moment there is a consensus for two of the three countries to be offered invitations to begin accession talks.
"There is also a unanimous view within the alliance that the third country, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, should as soon as possible be offered the opportunity to begin accession talks," he added, in comments made after leaving the dinner.
Albania, Croatia and Macedonia have been lobbying hard to receive invitations at the summit to join the 26-nation alliance, and officials and diplomats have said all three have met the technical criteria to enter.
But the ambitions of Macedonia -- the southernmost of the former Yugoslav republics -- have been challenged by neighbour Greece in a dispute over its official name.
Greece refuses to recognise the former Yugoslav republic's name because it is the same as that of the northern Greek province of Macedonia. Athens worries that this could imply a claim on its territory.
Macedonia's constitutional name is the Republic of Macedonia, and Skopje wants this used in international relations, except with Athens, where a name acceptable to both parties would be found.
"There is no consensus on this issue," said Greek foreign ministry spokesman Giorgos Koumoutsakos.
Even though a new round of talks was scheduled for Thursday, he said: "My feeling is that Greece won't be able to give its consent."
Georgia and Ukraine's hopes of taking an important step toward joining NATO also wilted, with the United States and key European allies poles apart on their candidature.
The two former Soviet republics hope to be invited into NATO's Membership Action Plan (MAP), which grooms aspiring European nations for entry, at the three-day summit in Bucharest.
But while US President George W. Bush gave them strong public backing, France and Germany, among others, fear that entry into the MAP programme could destabilise, rather than stabilise, an already volatile region.
"For the moment I do not expect a membership action plan for Georgia and Ukraine here at Bucharest," chief NATO spokesman James Appathurai said, toward the end of a working dinner of allied leaders.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said his country was working with Norway and a few others to try to find a consensus, but that questions remained over the "timing and the manner" of accepting the two.
On Afghanistan, NATO's most ambitious and potentially perlious mission, France announced that it would send a battalion -- usually around 800 troops -- to the east, freeing up US forces to help embattled Canada.
"I can confirm that the French government has offered a substantial military contribution to Afghanistan," Appathurai said.
"They have made that offer for the east of the country and the United States, building on that offer, has agreed to offer troops in the south," he added.
Canada's parliament voted last month to extend its military mission in volatile southern Afghanistan to 2011 -- but only if its allies sent reinforcements, otherwise its troops would leave next February.
Canada has lost 80 soldiers in Afghanistan since Ottawa began its deployment there as part of the NATO-led mission to fight the Taliban in 2002.
France currently has about 1,600 soldiers in Afghanistan.
A senior US official said that more pledges to help combat the insurgency were in the offing, building on a force of 47,000 troops drawn from 40 nations that NATO leads in Afghanistan.
"It's pretty clear that there are going to be new commitments to the effort, and they won't be insignificant," he told reporters.
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