(dpa) -
The Visegrad group of four central European countries - the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland - gave its backing Wednesday to efforts by Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO.
Visegrad foreign ministers said in a joint statement that the move would be
"an important step towards deepening cooperation in political, defence,
security."
Former Soviet states Georgia and Ukraine, whose relations with Moscow have been
at times rocky, were not invited to join the alliance at a recent NATO summit
in Bucharest despite US backing.
While North American and Eastern European NATO members supported their bid,
Western European powers France and Germany opposed it.
Albania and Croatia were invited at the summit to join the alliance while Macedonia was not, owing to a dispute with Greece over the country's name.
In a separate statement, also signed by Sweden, the Visegrad grouping said it
supports Ukraine's aspirations to enter the European Union.
"We believe that Ukraine's European ambitions should be addressed in a
positive manner and utilized to promote political and economic reforms," a
statement said.