Angela Merkel: Georgia will join NATO

Georgia will join NATO, German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared in Tbilisi on Sunday after a meeting with the Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, AFP informs. Meanwhile, Russian troops seem to linger more on Georgian territory than initially promised by Moscow officials.

Merkel reinforced Germany’s position during the last NATO Summit in Bucharest, that Georgia should not be given an action plan. She added that Russian troops are not to eager to leave Georgia and urged Moscow officials to take urgent measures. She declared that the whole world was watching Russia and declared that their actions now were a question of credibility.

At his turn, Mikhail Saakashvili declared that Georgia would not recognize any Russian peace keeping force. He underlined that there were no peace keeping troops, just armed military troops who plan to destroy the economic infrastructure of Georgia.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev announced his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy that Russian troops would leave Georgia starting Monday, AFP informs. French authorities confirmed the telephone conversation between Medvedev and Sarkozy.

Russian commander Viaceslav Borisov previously declared that Russian troops in Georgia already started to withdraw but his declaration was contradicted by Georgians. Georgian Security Council secretary Alexandre Lomada declared that Russian troops were reinforcing their position and did not plan to leave Georgia.

Nonetheless, according to the peace agreement signed by both parties, Russians need to withdraw all forces from the Georgian territories. Russian peace keeping troops will have to withdraw in South Ossetia and are allowed to check the perimeter until an international regulatory mechanism will be enforced in the region.