NEWS EUROPE Nato summit begins in Bucharest The Parliament Palace in Bucharest, where the 20th annual summit of Nato is being held [AFP] One of the biggest gatherings of world leaders, the 20th annual Nato summit, has begun in Bucharest. The outgoing US president is pushing for Nato's eastward expansion, but the military alliance's leaders were divided on the issue as they gathered on Thursday in the Romanian capital. George Bush wants the membership of Nato to be extended to the former Soviet states, Georgia and Ukraine. But with key allies like France and Germany opposing the plan for fear of provoking Moscow, Bush's final Nato summit will require all his diplomatic skills. Conflict of interests The conflict of interests involves Nato's historic open-door policy on the one hand, and on the other hand Russia's feeling that the alliances' borders are growing too close for comfort. Nato was set up in 1949. It was an alliance to counter the military power of the Soviet Union. The Soviets in turn set up the Warsaw Pact and a clear Cold War line was drawn between the two sides. The Warsaw Pact was dissolved in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union and Nato's eastward expansion began. Shadow of Russia At the Bucharest summit, Albania and Croatia too will begin the formal process of their membership. Nato's backing of a US missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic has been harshly condemned by Vladimir Putin. Bush is making his final attendance as US
president at the Nato summit [AFP] The Russian president will be making his first appearance at this year's summit to express his fears of a new arms race. The Russian president will be making his first appearance at this year's summit to express his fears of a new arms race. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Nato's secretary-general, says: "If President Putin comes to Bucharest with an open mind, it should be possible for us to advance a broader Nato-Russia relationship." Nato says its eastward expansion will not threaten Russia. Still, Jonah Hull, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Kiev , says Ukraine and Georgia are unlikely to be given this membership action plan in Bucharest. "The problem they face even with President Bush's support is opposition both from Russia and from significant members of the Nato alliance. "Russia has long been wary of Nato's expansion eastwards. It views it as a provocation and even says it will aim missiles at Ukraine if it goes ahead." Other differences Russia's differences with Nato go beyond the proposed eastward expansion. Moscow is also upset by Kfor - a Nato-led peacekeeping force that remains in recently declared independent Kosovo.
All of this has threatened to shift the focus of the Bucharest summit away from Afghanistan, supposed to be at the top of the agenda. In Video
A reality check for Canadian troops in Afghanistan Nato leads more than 47,000 military personnel in that country. Nato leads more than 47,000 military personnel in that country. Bush wants member countries to send more troops to Afghanistan. "The alliance must maintain its resolve and finish the fight ... we cannot afford to lose Afghanistan," Bush said in Bucharest during a speech at a German Marshall Fund conference on Wednesday. He said that if the alliance does not stay on the offensive in Afghanistan, Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters will use it to launch more attacks on the West like those on September 11, 2001. Only a few countries have so far answered the call for more support to fight the Taliban in the south. French response Last week, France committed more troops to Afghanistan. Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, confirmed on Thursday in Bucharest that France will send a battalion and special forces to Afghanistan to join the Nato mission there. Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, confirmed on Thursday in Bucharest that France will send a battalion and special forces to Afghanistan to join the Nato mission there. The additional soldiers partially meets demands by Canada, which had threatened to withdraw forces if Nato allies did not send reinforcements. Up to 81 Canadians have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002. Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush yesterday, with Romania’s President Traian Basescu and Mrs. Maria Basescu, left, and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Mrs. Jeannine de Hoop Scheffer during the NATO Summit official greeting at the Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest. 

One of the biggest gatherings of world leaders, the 20th annual NATO summit which began on Wednesday continued today in Bucharest.

NATO leaders begin negotiations in earnest over Afghanistan Thursday, after the opening day of their summit in Bucharest saw a successful French offer of more troops, but a public disagreement over the alliance's enlargement.

In the morning, the heads of the 26-strong alliance will hold their first formal working session, picking up on the themes of Wednesday's dinner - enlargement, Kosovo and Afghanistan, plus other issues.

The conflict of interests involves a delicate diplomatic brinkmanship between NATO's historic open-door policy and Russia's feeling that the alliances' borders are growing too close for comfort.

At the Bucharest summit, Albania and Croatia too will begin the formal process of their membership.
 
NATO's backing of a United States missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic has been harshly condemned by Vladimir Putin, who will be making his first appearance at this year's summit to express his fears of a new arms race.

The leaders of Albania and Croatia will get their first taste of NATO's highest body, when they sit with their counterparts, alongside Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, in a special session.

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 and Athens worries that this could imply a claim on its territory.