Attempt to join NATO MAP fruitless

BRUSSELS, March 7 (UPI) -- Ukrainian officials are calling efforts to jump-start talks on the granting of membership to the NATO Membership Action Plan fruitless.

During a meeting Thursday at NATO headquarters in Brussels, NATO foreign ministers remained undecided on the whether Ukraine could join the Membership Action Plan. The move disappointed top government officials in Ukraine and Georgia who both recently sent letters concerning their wish to join the MAP.

"The discussion on letters from Ukraine and Georgia concerning their wish to join in the NATO Membership Action Plan appeared to be fruitless," the release said.

Launched in 1999, the MAP assists countries in their effort to join NATO by providing advice and assistance on NATO membership standards for possible future membership. Despite not making any headway regarding MAP acceptance, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer says the door to membership remains open.

"Let me only say this: there is no enlargement fatigue at NATO," de Hoop Scheffer said in a statement. "I hope and expect that, by the time of the Bucharest Summit, we will be able to say that the NATO family is growing again."