Biden to greet allies in Ukraine, Georgia

“The signal has been given very directly and very firmly in the way it usually needs to be given to Russia,” she said.

Analysts say Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili also needs U.S. support for his political survival after his rule was threatened this spring by mass protests.

“It's very important for Saakashvili to show that his government is supported by the U.S. and the West, to prove that he is a respectable leader of the country and to show his political opposition that he should not be blamed for losing the war,” said Nikolai Petrov of the Carnegie Moscow Center, a Moscow-based think tank.

Experts here say Biden has close relations with the Georgian leadership. He visited Georgia last year as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine also hopes Obama proves as sympathetic an ally as President George W. Bush, who actively supported Ukraine's NATO bid despite fierce opposition from Moscow.

Blinken, Biden's national security adviser, was more cautious Friday, confirming Washington's commitment to “the broad principle that NATO's door is open to both countries, to Georgia and Ukraine.” He added however, that Georgia and Ukraine must work hard to meet the membership criteria.

“The door is open, and we want to help you and work with you to get you to the point where you can meet the requirements of membership,” he told reporters.

Some analysts are skeptical.

“Compared with President Bush, the Obama administration is less willing to lobby NATO allies” to admit Ukraine, said Alex Brideau, a Ukraine analyst at Eurasia Group, a U.S.-based firm that advises on geopolitical risks.

Whatever is decided, neither Ukraine nor Georgia seems likely to join NATO soon.

Last year's war caused some Western governments to question the wisdom of expanding NATO eastward because, had Georgia been a member then, NATO would have had to respond militarily.

Each of the 28 NATO member countries has veto power over new applicants, and France and Germany have signaled their opposition to accepting Georgia and Ukraine soon.

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