NATO summit: Afghanistan to top agenda

BUCHAREST, April 1 (Xinhua) -- NATO's peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan will top the agenda of the alliance's summit in Bucharest this week, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Tuesday.

Afghanistan's reconstruction needs the support from the international community and NATO still pays attention to the country, Scheffer said after a meeting with Romanian President Traian Basescu.

He said NATO members will discuss the alliance's operation in Afghanistan and issues related to the International Security Assistance Force at a high-level meeting during the summit.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moonand European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso are invited to the meeting, Scheffer said.

Heads of state and government of the 26 NATO members will meet here for a summit from Wednesday to Friday.

During the three-day meeting, NATO leaders are also expected to discuss the enlargement of the alliance, missile defense, cyber defense and the protection of energy supply lines.

BUCHAREST, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Russia does not represent a NATO enemy, and the anti-missile shield does not aim at the country, U.S. President George W. Bush said here Wednesday.

"Russia is not our enemy," Bush said in a 20-minute keynote address in Transatlantic Forum of the NATO Summit. He said the the deployment of the anti-missile shield had nothing to do with defense against possible attack from Russia. Full story

BUCHAREST, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Unites States President George W. Bush arrived in Bucharest on Tuesday afternoon, for an official visit in Romania and to attend the NATO summit held in the eastern European country.

The NATO summit is to take place in Bucharest on April 2-4, with the enlargement, operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo as its main topics. Full story

BUCHAREST, April 2 (Xinhua) -- NATO is to make the "historical decision" in Bucharest Summit to accept three new members: Albania, Croatia and Macedonia, U.S. President George W. Bush said on Wednesday. Full story

MOSCOW, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Russia's outgoing President Vladimir Putin and his United States counterpart George W. Bush are expected to sign a joint document on April 6 when they meet in Russia's Black Sea resort Sochi, a Kremlin source said on Tuesday.

The agreement is to focus on hot topics in bilateral ties such as a U.S. plan to deploy missile shield components in Central Europe which Russia opposed to, RIA Novosti news agency said. Full story

BUCHAREST, April 1 (Xinhua) -- NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer hopes the alliance's summit in Bucharest will reach a solution for the integration of Croatia, Albania and Macedonia, local press reported Tuesday.

In an interview with the newspaper Romania Libera ahead of the summit, Scheffer hoped "that the result might be an invitation for all three of them," adding that he could not rule out that Skopje's hopes might be dashed. Full story

TIRANA, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said on Tuesday that Macedonia is still hopeful of being invited to join NATO despite Greek veto threat over name dispute.

"We are still hopeful that justice will prevail, and that Macedonia will obtain the NATO membership invitation," Gruevski said before he left for Bucharest to attend the alliance's summit, set to begin on Wednesday.