The United States is confident that Georgia and Ukraine will become members of the NATO military alliance, a top US administration official stated earlier today. Russia’s recognition of Georgian breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia has increased backing for Georgia and Ukraine’s admission to the 26-member NATO alliance, stated the official, who wished to remain anonymous. These statements were made as US Vice President Dick Cheney held talks with Italian leaders. Cheney last week vowed Washington’s backing for Baku, Tbilisi and Kiev during a tour of the region, and urged NATO to unite in order to ward off a return of “line-drawing” in Europe. He held weekend meetings with political and business leaders at a conference in Italy, including many of the top world oil executives. The official went on to state that the crisis in the former Soviet regions are “not just a US problem; all of Europe has a stake in how this is handled and whether or not these sovereign independent states remain free and independently sovereign states“.