Georgia, NATO to top Merkel, Medvedev agenda

GEORGIA: German Chancellor Angela Merkel set off Thursday for a meeting with Russia's president that is expected to focus on the crisis in Georgia, a day after EU monitors began patrolling Georgian territory.

The meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, between Merkel and Dmitry Medvedev is their fourth this year. It comes at a critical juncture in Russian-EU relations, with relations still fragile after Russia recognized the independence of Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions.

Berlin, Thursday, AP