At a summit in Bucharest, attended by some 60 heads of state and government, the leaders will decide whether to invite in three new Balkans nations as members and assess stability in Kosovo since it declared independence.

But sparks are likely to fly with Putin when they hand down their verdict on Georgia and Ukraine's aspirations to speed up entry into NATO and debate missile defence.

Without doubt NATO's biggest challenge, and its most pressing threat, is Afghanistan, where 47,000 alliance-led troops from almost 40 nations are trying to spread the influence of President Hamid Karzai's weak central government.

But those efforts have been undermined by the Taliban, who use Pakistan as a rear base to launch attacks into the south and east, and damaged by the reluctance of some allies to move troops into those regions.

Internal tensions reached a peak in January, when the United States complained about operations in the south, irking allies like Britain, Canada, Denmark and the Netherlands whose troops are dying there.

In an effort to focus international attention, as the Taliban prepare a new spring offensive, the leaders will unveil a "vision statement" to remind increasingly sceptical publics why NATO is there and what it aims to achieve.

They will do so in the presence of Karzai, the leaders of partner nations in the Afghan enterprise, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and his new envoy Kai Eide, as well as senior EU and World Bank officials.

A new secret "political-military" plan will also be finalised, covering the next five years and setting benchmarks so all international actors can monitor progress and pinpoint where to improve.

"It will set out in very specific terms how we are doing in all the areas where NATO plays a lead or supporting role and where allies think we should focus our effort," spokesman James Appathurai said.

To help out in Afghanistan, the world's biggest opium producer and a breeding ground for militants, Putin could endorse a key "arrangement" allowing NATO to transport troops and supplies across Russian territory.

But while Russia shares the view that Afghanistan, and particularly the Pakistan border area, is a major global security challenge, it insists that NATO must stop pushing on a number of issues if it wants help.

A main point of tension has been the efforts of Georgia and Ukraine to join NATO, which Russia says would incite the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia to break away.

One diplomat underlined "the atmosphere could be spoiled" by the dispute.

The allies have been unable to agree on when to grant the two membership action plan status -- the ante-chamber to NATO membership -- with almost a dozen nations opposed, according to officials and diplomats.

Putin and US President George W. Bush -- both at one of their last major international events -- will take up other issues like a Cold War arms treaty and missile defence in separate talks just after NATO's 59th summit.

The NATO leaders, meeting from Wednesday to Friday, are also set to expand the 26-nation transatlantic alliance further into the Balkans, with invitations ready for Albania, Croatia and Macedonia to join at a later date.

"All three have done enough in performance oriented terms to merit an invitation," one senior NATO diplomat said.

But a 17-year row over Macedonia's name could see Greece wield its veto.

Macedonia has the same name as a northern Greek province and Athens fears that recognising it would imply the Balkan state has a claim on the territory.

On Kosovo, the leaders will insist the 17,000-strong KFOR contingent must remain and robustly meet any more violence that breaks out until Pristina can stand on its feet.

Russia's NATO envoy rejects Afghan transit trade off
Russia's envoy to NATO denied Friday that Moscow's offer to help international forces in Afghanistan would depend on the alliance rejecting the membership plans of Georgia and Ukraine.

Ambassador Dmitry Rogozin rejected reports that any deal could be done to allow equipment and troops from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to move across Russian territory.

Indeed he suggested that a transit arrangement was virtually finalised, and might be concluded in time for next week's summit in Bucharest between Russian President Vladimir Putin and NATO leaders.

"There is no connection, no relation at all between the NATO decision on Ukraine or Georgia and the completion of the transit agreement, or of any arrangement to support ISAF in Afghanistan," he told reporters in Brussels.

"We do not speak here in the language of deals and trade," he said.

However he underlined that ISAF's success in Afghanistan would depend on the strength of cooperation between NATO and Russia.

"Without a good partnership between NATO and Russia it will not be possible to solve the problem of the post war settlement in Afghanistan," he said.

"It's important to have an arrangement (on transit) because there are people who are struggling, fighting the Taliban and Al-Qaeda," he said. "Russia wants to help people."

"It doesn't really matter how the arrangement is reached. It doesn't really matter whether that will be an exchange of letters or a decree, or another document issued by the government," he said.

"Whether it can be concluded before the summit depends on our inter-agency communication in the Russia Federation. We will hope for the best."

The transit deal is expected to would allow "non-lethal equipment for the NATO efforts in Afghanistan" to travel by land routes through Russia and Central Asia -- a far cheaper option than shipping by air.

A NATO diplomat said there would no longer be any formal accord for NATO and Russia to sign, but rather "a unilateral decree", which would allow transit rights to be worked out between individual ISAF nations and Moscow.

Russia is deeply opposed to NATO allowing Georgia and Ukraine into its membership action plan -- the ante-chamber to joining the alliance -- and argues that such a move could spark regional instability.

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