Russia could end all cooperation with Nato if the alliance moved to grant Georgia membership, Moscow's Nato envoy indicated yesterday in comments carried by state news agency RIA Novosti

'From a moral-political point of view, accepting Georgia to MAP would look like Nato moving to the side of the aggressor, Dmitry Rogozin said, referring to proposals to grant Georgia Nato’s Membership Action Plan (MAP) status.

"It is one thing for the US to back their protege, and another thing entirely to provide refuge to the aggressor country'. What kind of (Russia-Nato) cooperation can you talk about in this case? None! Rogozin was quoted as saying.

A top US administration official said Monday that Washington was confident Georgia would join Nato and that Russia's incursion into the ex-Soviet state in August had increased its chances.

'If anything, what has happened in Georgia has probably broadened support within the alliance for (he proposition that eventually they ought to be members of Nato." the official said on condition of anonymity.

"The resolution that was adopted at the Bucharest summit that said Georgia and Ukraine will become members of Nato represents the thinking of most of our Nato allies." the US official said.

At the April summit, Nato leaders agreed on a statement saying that Georgia and ex-Soviet ally Ukraine would eventually join but

refused to grant the countries MAP status after French and German opposition.

Russia has opposed inclusion of Georgia and Ukraine, saying that Nato expansion and its support of a planned US anti-missile system in the Czech Republic and Poland is a "strategic error"

Last month Moscow announced a suspension of cooperation with Nato in a number of areas, freezing visits to Russia by Nato officials and suspending participation in joint military exercises.

Meanwhile the United States is confident that Georgia and Ukraine will become members of the Nato military alliance and sees growing support in Europe for that prospect, a top US administration official said Monday,

Russia's recognition of Georgian breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia has increased backing for expansion of the 26-member alliance, the official said as US Vice President Dick Cheney held talks with Italian leaders here.

"There may be debates about timing, conditions and so forth, but if anything what has happened in Georgia has probably broadened support within the alliance for the proposition that eventually they ought to be members of Nato," he said on condition of anonymity.

Cheney last week vowed Washington's support for Baku, Tbilisi and Kiev during a whistlestop tour of the region, and urged Nato to unite in order to ward off a return of "line-drawing" in Europe.