Germany offers support for Georgia's NATO bid

[24HRrnr]

Source: AP

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is offering strong support for Georgia, saying the country is on track to become a member of NATO.

Merkel flew to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Sunday, two days after she met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

In a speech Sunday, Merkel also suggested that NATO could help rebuild the tattered Georgian military.

Merkel supports the EU cease-fire, saying it needs to be followed "immediately" and that Russian troops need to pull out of neighboring Georgia.


Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gDNLWfQWKrQc48pITBUg9KT_6oVwD92K2SE80

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Interesting....

[thunder rising]

1. If she can write demanding letters we should give her an honorary Democratic Congressional position

I think the days of slapping Russia around are about over. Another Bush gift to the world.

[WriteDown]

2. When were the days of slapping Russia around?

Just saying. Russia is in bad shape now economically. What will really hurt is when the world begins to move further away from oil.

[bluesmail]

3. I guess she liked being manhandled by a cretin.

[ohio2007]

5. Actually, she is standing up to Tsar Putin. Being German,she would know

a thing or two about using stern discipline

Georgia to become NATO member: Merkel

http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2008/08/17/54962.html

[amandabeech]

7. Wasn't Merken born in the f ormer East Germany?

If so, she probably has some interesting memories of the Russians.

[Ghost Dog]

4. As broker-guarantor of the cease-fire, The EU at this stage

has to clearly indicate that there are plenty of ways it can harden its stance towards Russia, should she in any way renege on the deal, I guess.

[robcon]

6. Good news, along with Ukraine and Poland going with missile defense.

Putin has set up a Russia vs. the-rest-of-Europe situation.

[reorg]

8. So, not much has changed then since April

when Merkel and Steinmeier blocked the attempt of Bush to put NATO membership of Georgia and the Ukraine on the fast track:

DW, 02.04.2008 ...

"The time is not ripe"

Both Germany and France, backed by several smaller countries, strongly oppose Bush's Membership Action Plan (MAP) for the two nations, arguing that Georgia and Ukraine do not meet NATO's criteria and the decision would be an unnecessary provocation to Russia before President-elect Dmirty Medvedev takes office.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Bucharest that both Georgia and Ukraine should have a long-term prospect of NATO membership, "but there is one difference with the United States: we believe the time for MAP is not ripe."

Earlier, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in an interview Europe should try to avoid further damaging its relationship with Russia.

It is clear "that we have reached the limit in foreign policy in relations with Russia," Steinmeier regional daily Leipziger Volkszeitung in an interview.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3232477,00.html

Merkel made this explicitly clear to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) - however, such minor details are usually left unreported in the mainstream junk media. If you are able to read in German, here it is:

FAZ, 18.08.2008 ...

Zugleich gelte, was auf dem Nato-Gipfel in Bukarest vereinbart worden sei, wo Georgien und die Ukraine in das Vorbereitungsprogramm MAP aufgenommen worden waren. Doch machte sie deutlich, das brauche seine Zeit; sie werde nicht von den Nato-Beschlüssen vom Frühjahr in Bukarest abweichen. Die Kanzlerin stellte Saakaschwili zugleich deutsche und europäische Unterstützung für den Wiederaufbau Georgiens in Aussicht. Sie forderte die russische Seite auf, ihre Truppen aus dem „Kerngebiet“ Georgiens zurückzuziehen. Abchasien und Südossetien schloss sie dabei nicht ausdrücklich ein. ...

http://www.faz.net/s/Rub97F2F5D596354F4BBE619038133D791F/Doc~E2BF856FBEF364864BCCA0C9482F0D5ED~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html?rss_aktuell