A senior US senator on Wednesday urged Ukraine to keep a broad public discussion on the entry to NATO - an issue that sharply divides this former Soviet republic where many are suspicious of the West.

Western-directed President of UkraineViktor Yushchenko is lanning for membership of the military alliance, but opinion polls show more than half of Ukrainians are opposed to the idea. The government admits a decision on whether to entry to NATO will be made based on a nationwide referendum.

"The United States of America certainly support that vital discussion in this country," Senator Richard Lugar replied in the interview.

Yushchenko proved his efforts on Tuesday by formally requesting NATO's Membership Action Plan, a key step on the road to joining the alliance. He expressed true hope that a decision on the plan canbe reached at a NATO summit that will be held in April in Bucharest, Romania. Lugar, the leading Republican on the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, acknowledged that the discussion definitely will not be easy. "Other countries will want to enter into an international discussion, they may have comments also," he added.

Ukraine's NATO bid also meets strong opposition from the Eastern neighbor of Ukraine -Russia that has been angered by NATO's eastward expansion and deployments close to its borders.

Lugar, who has devoted much of his career to nuclear protection and energy safety, also urged Ukraine, which depends on Russia for most of its energy supplies, to develop its own oil and gas fields and consider alternative energy sources such as wind power.

"Very clearly there are resources in this country - these are oil and natural gas. This is going to need collaboration with international companies, with international investment," Lugar told. "I hope very much that there will be a timetable that will be moved up to think through what resources there are available here."