Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper since 1995

KIEV, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, in comments published on Thursday, urged NATO to put his country on a fast track to membership as neighbouring Russia issued new demands for payment of arrears for gas supplies.

The ex-Soviet state is hoping the Atlantic alliance will extend a "Membership Action Plan" - a first step towards membership - at a Dec. 2-3 meeting of its foreign ministers.

At a summit last April, NATO promised Ukraine it would one day join the alliance but opted not to offer Kiev a MAP. Despite U.S. support, some European states oppose the move and recurring political turmoil in Kiev has reduced prospects even further.

The NATO membership drive by Kiev's pro-Western authorities is one of several irritants affecting ties with Russia, which sees further alliance expansion as a threat to its interests.

In an interview with the Times in London and other European dailies, Yushchenko said expanding NATO was "especially urgent" after Russia's brief war with Georgia in August in which Kiev backed authorities in Tbilisi.

"There are many security threats in Europe and one can only respond to these challenges in one way - by expanding the stability and security zone," Yushchenko was quoted as saying.

"I am sure that the ball is not on the Ukrainian side of the field. Ukraine has done everything it had to do."

Kiev, he said, was resolved to pursue its bid despite Russia's fierce opposition. "Everything else is an issue of political will of those allies who represent NATO," he said.

A MAP for Ukraine was no guarantee of joining, "but it is a guarantee that we will have a more intensive and ample dialogue ... that Western Europe can hear us and give their supporting hand to us. This is the signal we would like to receive."

DISPUTES OVER SOVIET-ERA HISTORY

Yushchenko further criticised Kremlin leader Dmitry Medvedev for refusing to attend this weekend's commemorations of Soviet Ukraine's Great Famine of 1932-33 in which millions died.

Medevedev's stand, he said, was "anything but appropriate". Russia denies any notion that the deaths amounted to genocide.

Rows over NATO, interpretation of history and gas underscore uneasy ties between the neighbours since the "Orange Revolution" brought pro-Western leaders to power in Kiev in 2004.

In Moscow, Medvedev ordered gas giant Gazprom <GAZP.MM> to ask Ukraine to pay back debt to Russia payment arrears Gazprom estimates at $2.4 billion.

"We need to fully clarify ourselves with Ukraine's debt and recover it on a good-will or compulsory basis," news agencies quoted him as telling Gazprom head Alexei Miller in the Kremlin.

Ukraine's state energy firm Naftogaz said its debt to the intermediary supplying imported gas did not exceed $1.3 billion.

With the NATO ministerial meeting fast approaching, NATO officials have said nothing about Ukraine's chances of winning a MAP and said the issue should not be "politicised".

Some alliance members say offering MAP is only a technical step and does not prejudge any final membership decision. Others say it is difficult to refuse entry once MAP has been granted.

European countries opposing Ukrainian membership point to recurring political turmoil since 2004, mainly the president's rows on a wide range of issues with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

Opponents of Ukrainian membership also cite opinion polls showing limited support for membership inside the country -- no more than 30 percent of respondents want to join the alliance.