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Tbilisi & Washington: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday that Georgia was on a clear path to membership in Nato but reiterated that she stood by her decision at a summit in April not to grant Tbilisi a "membership action plan" for joining the alliance.
She was speaking at a joint news conference with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Meanwhile in Washington, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Russia to honor its pledge to start withdrawing its troops from Georgia, saying Moscow had broken earlier promises to pull out.
"I hope he intends to honor the pledge this time," Rice said of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday.
She noted several days ago Medvedev said that military operations would stop, but they did not. Medvedev also said that as soon as a cease-fire agreement was signed by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, Russian troops would start withdrawing, but they didn't, Rice added.
"This time I hope he means it," she said. "The word of the Russian president needs to be upheld by his forces or people are going to begin to wonder if Russia can be trusted."
Defense Secretary Robert Gates also voiced skepticism that Moscow would pull out quickly. He said it partly depended on how fast the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe could get monitors to the scene.
"My own view is that the Russians will probably stall and perhaps take more time than anybody would like. I think we just need to keep the pressure and ensure that they abide by the agreement that they've signed and do so in a timely way," Gates said in an interview with CNN.
Gates, on CNN, said the ceasefire seemed to be holding, with Russian fighters and bombers "pretty much grounded."
Rice repeated warnings that Moscow's actions had put its integration into the global community at risk. NATO foreign ministers are meeting this week in Belgium to discuss the alliance's reaction to the conflict.
"Russia will pay a price. We will look seriously with our allies and bilaterally at the consequences of this Russian action for Russian integration" into global institutions, Rice said.
But, she said, "Russia has already paid a price because its strategic objective of undermining the democracy of Georgia, of destroying its infrastructure, is not going to succeed." Its actions also caused a "backlash" among other former Soviet states, she said.
"Georgia will rebuild, Russia's reputation may not be rebuilt," Rice said.
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