Bush reassures Baltic states of support

US President George W. Bush says that Russia's "democratic neighbors" like Georgia, should be able to exist "without fear of bullying."

Bush told visiting Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus on Monday that Lithuania's accession to NATO was a very important part of the US foreign policy. "It's important for the people of Lithuania to know that when the United States makes a commitment, for example, Article V of the treaty, we mean it."

For his part, Adamkus said he would like a more visible US presence in the Baltics.

The meeting comes amid Baltic nervousness following the Russian invasion of Georgia last month. Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, once Soviet states, are now NATO members.

Bush will also meet Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko later in the day. They are expected to discuss "how to reinforce democracy, security and national sovereignty in Ukraine and throughout the region, and steps to advance Ukraine's efforts to integrate into the Euro-Atlantic community," the White House said.

Moscow has seen relations with former Soviet republics and the West deteriorated sharply since its early August war with Georgia. Lithuania and Ukraine have been ardent supporters of Georgia's accession to NATO -- something Washington also supports despite Russia's vehement opposition.

Moscow has repeatedly criticized NATO plans for an eastward expansion, which is an open breach of a NATO promise made to the last Soviet Union Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev upon the union's 1991 dismemberment.