"We're not talking about an East-West rivalry," the NATO chief said. "This is about the democratic rights of the Ukrainian people themselves.

"As far as NATO is concerned, it's important that the people of the Ukraine can have an election for their free will to decide," he said. He added that it was equally important that Ukrainian citizens' "legal rights are respected, and that territorial integrity is guaranteed".

De Hoop Scheffer was speaking to journalists on the margins of the 50th General Assembly of the Atlantic Treaty Association, set up in 1954 to promote dialogue and mutual understanding of the Euro-Atlantic and Mediterranean area.

Speaking before taking a plane for Sarajevo, the NATO leader said Thursday's handover of peacekeeping duties in Bosnia to the European Union was a "milestone in the NATO-EU relationship".

"It's been an extremely successful operation which began with 60,000 troops in a time of insecurity and instability and is ending tomorrow with just 7,000 troops left in the country," De Hoop Scheffer said.

The NATO chief was to be a guest at a special dinner hosted by the Bosnian government on the eve of the handover.

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