Русская версияGerman government sources said on Saturday, Aug 16, Merkel would
press for a complete cessation of hostilities and a permanent
political solution to the Caucasus conflict in a closed-door
meeting with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in Tiblisi on
Sunday.
"The ceasefire has to be verifiable and permanent," German news
agencies quoted a government spokesman as saying.
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Merkel, left, minced no words with Medvedev
Merkel's meeting with Saakashvili comes two days after the
chancellor met Russian President Dimitry Medvedev in the Black
Sea resort of Sochi.
The chancellor openly criticized Russia's military action in
sending troops into South Ossetia and further into central Georgia
around the city of Gori and called it "disproportionate in some
aspects."
Former chancellor blames Georgia
Merkel underscored in the meeting with Medvedev that "the basic
point for any political solution to the conflict must be Georgia's
territorial integrity."
On Saturday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier
reiterated that Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty
could not be questioned.
"Georgia's territorial integrity remains the basis of German
policy," Steinmeier told newspaper
.
He was referring to statements by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov who described calls to respect Georgia's territorial
integrity as "just talk" that one "should forget."
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Former German Chancellor Schroeder, right, was and is good friends
with Russian Prime Minister Putin
Steinmeier added that Russia had crossed a limit with its
bombardment of Georgia proper but said it was pointless to assign
blame in the conflict.
His view was at odds with comments by former German chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder.
In an interview with news magazine
, Schroeder called President Saakashvili a "gambler" and said he
had triggered the war.
The crisis began when Georgia sent forces last week to retake South
Ossetia, a pro-Russian province that threw off Georgian rule in the
1990s. Moscow responded by sending troops into Georgia.
Russia
signs ceasefire
Medvedev meanwhile signed the six-point plan mediated by the
European Union earlier Saturday in Moscow. Saakashvili signed the
document in Tbilisi on Friday in the presence of US Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice.
The agreement is not a peace settlement but provides the basis for
a legally binding text to end the fighting and pave the way for a
political solution. The United Nations Security Council is to
formalize the six principles of the ceasefire.
One of the key points is the withdrawal of Russian armed forces to
positions held before hostilities began in South Ossetia.
Other points
include renouncing violence, cessation of
hostilities, granting access to humanitarian aid, the
return of Georgian armed forces to their usual quarters and the
opening of international discussions on the future status of
the rebel regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
The framework plan falls short of the original proposal by the EU
presidency. The draft had called for the "full respect for the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia" and the
deployment of a EU or UN monitoring mission.
Moscow, Tiblisi locked in war of words
Despite the signing of the agreement by Georgia and
Russia, the two sides are still engaged in
a verbal war.
After the meeting with Chancellor Merkel on Friday, Medvedev made
plain that Russia would respond "in the same way" if it felt
provoked again.
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Saakashvili says Moscow would like to see him out
In an interview with the German weekly
Der Spiegel
published Saturday, Saakashvili said Moscow was determined to see
his government toppled.
Russian leaders had told both Sarkozy and Rice that "there will be
no agreement on resolving the conflict without my resignation,"
Saakashvili said.
He accused Russia of using the Georgian military action in
breakaway South Ossetia as a pretext to march into the region.
"South Ossetia is not the issue for Russia," he said. "Moscow wants
to take over all of Georgia."
On Saturday, Georgia accused Russian troops of blowing up a railway
bridge west of the capital Tbilisi earlier in the day, saying its
main east-west train link had been severed. Russia strongly denied
any involvement.
Bush accuses Russia of "bullying"
Speaking in Washington after the return of US Secretary of State
Condoleeza Rice from the Caucasus , US President George W Bush
accused Russia of "bullying" behavior in sending armored units into
Georgia and bombing Georgian targets from the air.
But Bush admitted that some progress had been made by the signing
of the French-brokered peace plan by Russia and Georgia.
"Now Russia needs to honor the agreement and withdraw its forces
and of course end military operations," he said.
Bush has consistently held up Georgia as a beacon of democracy in
the Caucasus. In a weekly radio address, Bush said America would
not leave Georgia in the lurch and said the free world had to stand
up for a threatened democracy which had decided in favor of
freedom.
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The US has urged Russia to honor the ceasefire and withdraw troops
from Georgia
Rice is to go to Brussels next week to meet with NATO foreign
ministers and European Union officials on the Georgia crisis.
Asked about possible repercussions for Russia, Rice said there had
already been consequences in the expression of "universal concern"
on Russia's actions.
"I think that Russia will care about this talk because it is not
just talk, it is about Russia's standing in the international
community," she said.
Poland says EU too soft on Russia
Amid the flurry of diplomacy to end the conflict, the president of
the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering urged the EU to be
united on the issue.
"The EU has to deal with Russia in a united manner, with
determination and at the same time be ready for a dialogue,"
Poettering told German newspaper
.
Poettering also warned against scrapping the EU's strategic
partnership with Russia.
"Plans to isolate Russia won't lead anywhere. You can't isolate a
member of the UN Security Council."
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Lech Kaczynski has pooh-poohed the idea of the EU having a common
stance on Russia
However, Polish President Lech Kaczynski on Saturday accused Paris
and Berlin of going too soft on Russia because of their commercial
ties with that country.
In an interview, Kaczynski said that European Union policy
was being decided by Paris and Berlin, without taking into
consideration the views of the new EU members that were once under
Moscow's control during the Cold War.
"Saying that the European Union has a common policy towards Russia
is a joke. Because what policy would that be --submissiveness?" he
said.
(Deutsche Welle)
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