By IRNA,
Berlin : German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Sweden, Estonia and Lithuania next week for political talks on the Georgian conflict, an official said here Friday.
Speaking at a regular weekly press briefing, deputy government spokesman Thomas Steg said the Caucasus crisis will be on top of Merkel’s agenda during her three-nation trip on Monday and Tuesday.
Sweden, Estonia and Lithuania have adopted a very critical stance against Russia in the Georgian conflict.
Stockholm broke off all military ties with Moscow on Monday, while the presidents of Estonia and Lithuania embarked on a visit to the Georgian capital Tbilisi earlier this month in a demonstrative show of support for the embattled Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.
Meanwhile, Steg denied reports of a growing rift within the European Union on the issue of Georgia, while voicing optimism that a unified stance within the European body could be reached soon.
Western and Eastern EU countries are deeply split over how to deal with Russian military actions inside Georgia.
Steg reiterated again Russia had to swiftly withdraw from Georgian core “territories during the day.”
He made clear that a lasting peace agreement could only be achieved on the basis of preserving Georgia’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty.”