In response to a question on Georgia’s NATO aspiration, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that progress was needed in resolving the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Speaking at a joint press conference with President Saakashvili after talks in Berlin, Merkel also said, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) and Reuters, that Georgia would “one day” become a NATO member, but Georgia needed clear guidelines on how to proceed to fulfill the criteria for membership.
She also said that no party, except the applicant state and the alliance itself, had a say in deciding on NATO membership.
Merkel said that Germany supported Georgia’s “dynamic course” in recent years with regard to domestic political and economic reforms, but she called for the opposition to be engaged further into the parliamentary process, according to DPA.
DPA quoted President Saakashvili as saying that Tbilisi was “realistic about” NATO integration.
“Georgia needs concrete guidelines, concrete criteria,” Saakashvili said, adding that he had “a very good conversation” with the chancellor on the matter.
Merkel also said that Germany shared Georgia’s concerns over Russia’s recent moves in Abkhazia, but also called on Georgia to show restraint.
She, however, made it clear that Russian peacekeeping troops in Abkhazia should remain in the region until an alternative was found.
“We share the concerns about certain Russian steps that have been taken there. But we encourage Georgia to maintain the peace, because escalating the conflict is certainly not the solution,” DPA and Reuters quoted Merkel as saying. “We support the territorial integrity of Georgia.”
“We also say that from all sides there must be considered reactions, that there can be no intensification of the conflict and that the Russian peacekeeping mission should continue until new variants can be found in talks.”
She also said that Germany would seek to play an active role in resolving the conflict through negotiation, with Russian participation, adding that the process could not be postponed indefinitely.
Merkel said she would ensure the Georgian issue was raised with Moscow at an EU-Russia summit later this week.
At the news conference President Saakashvili expressed his hope of improving ties with Moscow and noted that his initial impression of new Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was positive.
“I was positively surprised by a more thoughtful approach… than I was used to sometimes in the past from different interlocutors,” he said in an apparent reference to ex-President Putin, Russia’s current prime minister.