The spokesman's perspective:

Continuing our new series of video commentary, NATO Spokesman James Appathurai gives his personal perspective on recent articles discussing NATO. He invites you to write in with your own comments and opinions, which could be featured in the next installment.

E-mail comments to: press@hq.nato.int

NATO expects progress, but no final decision, next month on a proposed short-range anti-missile shield to complement the wider defense system being developed by the United States, a senior official said Wednesday.

Assistant Secretary General Peter Flory said he expects NATO leaders meeting April 2-4 in Bucharest, Romania, to agree on the need for a system, although a final decision to invest in such a shield will probably not come before next year.

Russia's envoy to NATO warned Tuesday against putting Georgia on track to join the alliance, saying that would deepen the divides within that former Soviet republic and bolster two separatist regions' bids for international recognition.

The warning by Dmitry Rogozin, in a telephone interview with The Associated Press, appeared to be part of a Russian effort to head off further expansion by NATO, which is expected to consider next month offering Georgia an official route to alliance membership.

Canada still does not know which NATO country will supply the extra troops Ottawa has demanded as a condition for remaining in Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier said on Wednesday.

But Bernier said he remains optimistic the 1,000 soldiers will be found to work with Canada's 2,500-strong combat mission in southern Afghanistan near Kandahar where it is fighting Taliban forces.

Moldova's President said in remarks published Wednesday that a deal may be reached with Russia under which the Trans-Dniester region remains part of Moldova in return for Moldova's promise never to join NATO.

"Soon we will have a final solution to the Trans-Dniester conflict," President Vladimir Voronin was quoted as saying in the Russian daily Kommersant.

NATO has not yet decided whether to allow the former Soviet republics of Ukraine and Georgia to join the military alliance, its Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer was quoted on Wednesday as saying.

Asked when NATO plans to offer Ukraine and Georgia a Membership Action Plan, the first step to membership, Scheffer said: "We are debating on this issue".

NATO urged Russia on Wednesday to tone down its "fiery rhetoric" after repeated Moscow attacks on the growing influence of the military alliance and US plans to base parts of a missile shield in Europe.

"We have seen too much rhetoric at too high a level. We would like to see it dialled down," NATO spokesman James Appathurai said in a conference, speaking from Brussels.