The United States is taking another step toward getting formerly communist Albania and Croatia folded into the NATO alliance, reported the dpa. President George W. Bush planned to meet Friday with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and sign so-called accession protocols paving the way for the two Balkan countries' final membership in the military alliance. «The president has supported NATO enlargement as part of an important vision of a Europe that would be whole, free and at peace,» said White House press secretary Dana Perino. «The invitation to join NATO is recognition of a country's achievements on the path to prosperity and peace. And in return, NATO membership promises the security and stability of that country going forward.» The White House invited to the signing ceremony about 160 lawmakers, members of the diplomatic corps, the U.S. ambassadors to Albania and Croatia, and members of Albanian-American and Croatian-American groups. NATO leaders agreed at a summit earlier this year in Romania to invite Albania and Croatia into the alliance. However, the alliance rebuffed U.S. attempts to begin the process of inviting Ukraine and Georgia, both former Soviet republics, to join. Despite strong U.S. backing to bring them in, Germany, France and some other alliance members opposed the move, fearing it would provoke Russia.
