Русская версияMerkel assured Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili of Germany's
support and reiterated that Georgia's territorial integrity and its
independence must be respected.
In an apparent change in stance, the chancellor also threw her
weight behind Georgia's bid to join the NATO.
"Georgia will become a member of NATO if it wants to -- and it does
want to," Merkel said before talks with President Mikheil
Saakashvili in Tbilisi.
It was one of the strongest statements yet of support for Georgia's
NATO membership bid which is fiercely opposed by Russia.
The
statement signals a change in Germany's position towards
Georgian NATO membership. Earlier this year, Germany led European
resistance to plans, pushed by the US, to put Georgia on the track
to NATO membership.
Later at a joint news conference with Saakashvili, Merkel said that
though Georgia was on a clear path to membership in NATO she
stood by her decision at a summit in April not to grant Tbilisi a
"membership action plan" for joining the alliance.
Merkel also pressed Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili to adhere to the recently agreed ceasefire, signed by
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday one day after
Saakashvili.
Medvedev confirms pull-out
In a meeting with Medvedev in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on
Friday, Merkel had criticized Russian actions during the
week-long war between Russia and Georgia over the breakaway region
of South Ossetia. She demanded that Russia withdraw all its troops
from Georgia's core territory.
The Georgian government says rebel Abkhaz forces with the support
of Russian troops are occupying 13 Georgian villages, effectively
pushing the border of Abkhazia westwards into Georgia proper.
Medvedev said Sunday that Russian regular forces would start their
pullout from Georgia on Monday, the Kremlin said.
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Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:
Medvedev has confirmed Russia will begin withdrawing troops from
Georgia
"From tomorrow, Russia will begin withdrawing its military forces
that are supporting Russian peacekeepers," Medvedev told French
President Nicolas Sarkozy in a telephone conversation, the Kremlin
said in a statement.
Speaking at a Sunday press conference in Tbilisi, Merkel said
that despite Medvedev's commitment "according to the information I
have available to me this (Russian withdrawal) has not yet begun."
Merkel: Georgia's integrity must be respected
Merkel also repeated that Germany's position was that Georgia's
territorial integrity was beyond question, and that its borders
should be inviolate.
In her meeting with Medvedev, Merkel also stressed that
Germany's position was that Georgia's territorial integrity was
beyond question and that Saakashvili was a democratically elected
president.
Government sources said ahead of her departure that she intended to
push for "a complete cessation of hostilities."
"The ceasefire must be verifiable and lasting," they said.
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The map shows where Russian troops blew up a Georgian railroad
bridge near the capital Tbilisi
Georgian media hald back from predictions of what effect, if any,
Merkel's visit would have on Russian troops currently occupying
Georgian territory.
Rustaveli 2 television described Merkel's presence in Georgia as
"part of an international effort to support Georgia."
West divided on how to deal with Russia
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned on Sunday
against any knee-jerk reaction to the Caucasus conflict in
relations with Russia.
"I do not advise ... any knee-jerk reaction such as suspending
talks on a partnership and cooperation agreement (with the European
Union). That would signify that such an agreement is more important
to the EU than to Russia," Steinmeier said in an interview with
German weekly
.
"Or Russia joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO): our interest
in this is as great as Russia itself. Talks in the NATO-Russian
Council are essential too. Because we need open lines of
communication -- to Tbilisi and to Moscow," Steinmeier told the
paper.
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Steinmeier's comments on Russia are in sharp contrast to the views
held by other western nations
Steinmeier's comments were at odds with the views of other EU
members as well as the US.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country holds the rotating
EU presidency until the end of the year, warned on Sunday that
Russian relations with the EU would be seriously damaged if Moscow
failed to fully implement the peace deal it signed with Georgia.
In a statement, Sarkozy told Medvedev of the "serious
consequences that a failure to quickly and fully implement the deal
would have on relations between Russia and the European Union."
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on Wednesday that
the EU should reassess its relations with Russia after its
"aggressive" actions in Georgia and decide whether "to proceed with
the partnership and cooperation agreement."
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Sunday that Moscow's
international reputation had taken a beating by its military
action in Georgia.
"Russia overreached, used disproportionate force against a small
neighbour and is now paying the price for that because Russia's
reputation as a potential partner in international institutions,
diplomatic, political, security, economic, is frankly, in tatters,"
Rice told NBC's Meet the Press.
(Deutsche Welle)
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