"I just know that the Russian president said several days ago Russian military operations would stop. They didn't. The Russian president told President Sarkozy that the minute the cease-fire was signed by [Georgian] President [Mikheil] Saakashvili, Russian forces would begin to withdraw," she said. "They didn't.
"Now he has said that tomorrow, midday, Russian forces will withdraw and withdraw to their pre-Aug. 6-7 lines. This time I hope he means it."
Merkel, the second Western European leader to visit Georgia since the start of the crisis, said talks could begin soon on integrating this small country into NATO.
It was Georgia's push to join the alliance that apparently prompted Moscow to escalate pressure on Saakashvili's pro-U.S. government.
"Georgia, if it wants to become a member of NATO, will become one," Merkel told reporters at a joint appearance with Saakashvili outside the glass-domed hilltop presidential palace in Tbilisi, 25 miles from Russian troop positions.
Russian forces invaded Georgia after clashes between the two countries' military forces, as well as between Georgian forces and South Ossetian militants. Moscow says an unprovoked Georgian attack in South Ossetia killed more than 2,000 civilians around the breakaway republic's capital, though the figure has not been confirmed.
Georgians say they were responding to Russian provocations that grew impossible to ignore.
The crisis has heightened tensions between Russia and the West.
Merkel, who grew up under communist rule in Soviet-controlled East Germany, called on Russian forces to quickly leave Georgian territory.
"I expect a very fast withdrawal," she said. "This is an urgent matter."
She added, "This must happen not in several weeks, but in the coming days."
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates also repeated calls for Russia to leave or face consequences.
"Clearly the actions that Russia has taken in Georgia . . . [have] sent a powerful signal to the West," Gates said in an interview on ABC television.
"While they're wealthy with oil, they need a lot from the West, and I think that there are some real opportunities here if they don't observe the cease-fire and begin to reverse some of these actions," he said.
Flying into Tbilisi after meeting officials at the Kremlin in Moscow, Merkel said Medvedev had assured her that Russian troops would begin vacating Georgia today. Sarkozy's office released a statement also saying the French had received such Russian assurances, the Associated Press reported.
