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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Georgia to become NATO member: Merkel |
| 2008-08-18 |
| German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday in the Georgian capital that the ex-Soviet republic, currently mired in conflict with Russia, will join NATO. "Georgia will become a member of NATO if it wants to -- and it does want to," she 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. Merkel was in Tbilisi to support Saakashvili and press for the withdrawal of Russian troops who attacked Georgia on April 8 to repulse an offensive by Georgian troops against a Moscow-backed separatist region. Moscow is furious at Georgia's attempt to join NATO. The Western military alliance is divided over how fast to accept Georgia, but has indicated that membership is a matter of when, not if. |
| Posted by:Fred |
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