U.S. President George W. Bush signed the NATO Freedom Consolidation Act into law on Tuesday to show continued support for the NATO expansion, the White House said in a news release.

The law designates Albania, Croatia, Georgia, Macedonia and Ukraine as eligible to receive military assistance under the NATO Participation Act of 1994, and authorizes Fiscal Year 2008 appropriations for certain military assistance for these countries.

The NATO Freedom Consolidation Act was sponsored primarily by Sen. Richard Lugar, the top Republican member at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and was submitted to Bush two weeks ago.

The Bush administration has voiced support for the expansion of NATO alliance. However, Russia has protested against NATO expansion and claimed the expansion is aimed at curbing Russian influence.

Source: Xinhua