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Estonia, Germany seek common ground for EU summit
Aug 26, 2008, 15:18 GMT
Tallinn - Germany and Estonia hope the European Union will find common ground on the Russian-Georgian conflict, yet differences between the two member states persisted Tuesday.
The six-point plan brokered by the French EU presidency to withdraw Russian troops from Georgia should 'now be implemented,' said German Chancellor Angela Merkel Tuesday on her first visit to the Baltic nation of Estonia.
Estonia - a small ex-Soviet nation that has fiercely supported Georgia in its showdown with Russia - urges the 27-nation EU to toughen penalties for Moscow, such as reconsidering the framework of a partnership agreement or not easing EU visa restrictions on Russia.
Talks with Russia cannot continue until Moscow fulfills its obligations under the peace plan, which includes returning troops in the conflict to the positions before the fighting broke out on August 6, Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip told journalists in Tallinn.
'One cannot solve problems between countries if they do not talk to each other,' Merkel said.
Merkel was on a one-day visit to the Baltic states of Estonia and Lithuania on Tuesday.
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