MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian Foreign Ministry official said on Thursday the entry of Ukraine and Georgia into NATO would be a “huge strategic mistake” after alliance leaders pledged to offer them membership one day.

MINSK (Reuters) – Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday it was only a matter of time before NATO took in Ukraine and Georgia, and called for joint efforts with Russia to counter the alliance’s expansion.

BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Macedonia announced it was leaving a NATO summit early on Thursday after Greece prevented alliance leaders from inviting it into the military pact because of a row over its name.

BUCHAREST, Romania – President Bush suffered a painful diplomatic setback Wednesday when NATO allies rebuffed his passionate pleas to put former Soviet republics Ukraine and Georgia on the path toward membership in the Western military alliance.

 Russia isn’t a member of NATO. It never will be. But the country which once used to dominate and run the rival Warsaw Pact is nevertheless having a crucial influence on the deliberations in Bucharest of the 26-nation alliance. Whether western powers like it or not, Russia is becoming NATO-Plus-One.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini on Wednesday blasted US President George W. Bush’s “antagonistic” claims on Iran’s missile capabilities and said the statements in Bucharest summit of the military alliance are examples of the US government’s “desperate and opportunistic” attempt to destabilize the Middle East region.

BUCHAREST (Reuters) – A delay in inviting Macedonia to join NATO could encourage radicals and fuel instability in the Balkans, Albania’s prime minister said, urging compromise to allow a last-minute deal at an alliance summit on Wednesday.

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — At the heart of President Bush’s problem in getting NATO allies to send more combat troops to Afghanistan is a basic disconnect over the war: The Europeans don’t see it as one.

BUCHAREST (Reuters) – President George W. Bush set the stage for a clash at his final NATO summit on Wednesday by pressing reluctant west European allies to set former Soviet republics Georgia and Ukraine on a path to membership.

MINSK (Reuters) – The former Soviet republic of Belarus, subject to Western sanctions over its human rights record, said on Wednesday it was staying away from a NATO summit in Bucharest because of restrictions on who could attend.