Stockholm - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday said he was "not surprised" over Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf's resignation.

The German foreign minister said he hoped Musharraf's resignation - made just as impeachment proceedings were to begin - would contribute to a calmer situation in Pakistan, citing the need for Pakistan as a stable partner in the region.

Steinmeier made the remarks during a visit to Stockholm for talks with his Swedish counterpart Carl Bildt and other members of the Swedish cabinet.

Concerning the ongoing conflict between Russia and Georgia, Steinmeier said that isolating Russia was not a recipe for the future and it was of key importance now to maintain the ceasefire.

Steinmeier also said that despite the conflict, he saw no reason for any change in NATO plans for Georgian membership in the western alliance, as foreseen in last spring's Bucharest summit declaration.

The Berlin foreign minister noted that Chancellor Angela Merkel during her weekend visit to Tbilisi had urged a faster pace in getting Georgia into the alliance.

"While in Georgia, the chancellor recalled the Bucharest NATO decision and that we are going to adhere to it," Steinmeier said.

Bildt told reporters that he was "not surprised" over reports that Russia had tactical nuclear weapons in the Baltic Sea exclave Kaliningrad.

"That has been the situation for a period and we have also noted that they conduct maneuvers where nuclear weapons are used," Bildt said, adding that this was part of the Russian military doctrine although Sweden's policy was to reduce the number of nuclear weapons.

The German foreign minister later continued his regional tour, travelling to neighbouring Norway for talks with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store. (dpa)