Russian troops start pullout from Georgia(1)

2008-08-20 17:10:56 [ Big Normal Small ]    　Comment

·Russian troops and armored vehicles began to pull out from Gori Monday afternoon. ·The peace plan signed Saturday states Georgian troops should return to their bases. ·It also requires Russian forces to pull back to its previous positions.

  GORI, Georgia, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Russian troops and armored vehicles began to pull out from the Georgian city of Gori Monday afternoon under the terms of a French-brokered peace plan.

Russian troops and armored vehicles pull out from the city of Gori, Georgia, Aug. 18, 2008. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)
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Russian forces were earlier reported to have begun to withdraw from Tskhinvali, capital of Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia, toward the Russian region of North Ossetia.

A senior Russian military officer confirmed the withdrawal.

"Today, in line with the peace plan, we have begun the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers and their reinforcements," Col.Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy head of Russia's General Staff, said at a press conference broadcast live on Russian television.

After receiving the order for withdrawal, "we have started to load (military equipment) and are preparing to move," a senior Russian officer in the Georgia-South Ossetia conflict zone was quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency as saying.

Russia declared a halt to its military offensive in Georgia on Tuesday after days of conflict in South Ossetia.

President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday signed the peace plan, under which Georgian troops should return to their bases and Russian forces should pull back to its previous positions.

The document also bans the use of force and any military action and envisages free access to humanitarian aid.

According to Russian figures, around 1,600 civilians died in South Ossetia and over 34,000 fled the region during the hostilities, mostly to neighboring North Ossetia. 

Georgian president signs peace plan

Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili speaks during a news briefing in Tbilisi after talks with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Aug. 15, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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  TBILISI, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said on Friday that he has signed the peace plan to settle the conflict between his country and its breakaway region of South Ossetia.

  Saakashvili made the statement at a press conference after talks with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Medvedev: Russia expects Georgia to accept settlement principles

  MOSCOW, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Friday his country expects Georgia to give its written consent to the principles for settling the conflict between Georgia and its breakaway region of South Ossetia, the Interfax news agency reported.

"Now these principles should be accepted by Georgia and need to be followed, with guarantees from Russia, the Council of Europe, and the OSCE (the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe). I hope this will happen in the near future. We expect relevant information," Medvedev was quoted by Interfax as saying.

Russia concerned by U.S. aid for Georgia

MOSCOW, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- A senior Russian general said Thursday that Russia questioned cargoes airlifted by the United States to Georgia were really humanitarian aid, Russian news agencies reported.

"U.S. military transport aircraft are reported to have been airlifting some humanitarian cargoes to Tbilisi airport," Col. Gen.Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy head of Russia's General Staff, was quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency as saying at a press conference.

Russia to back any status decision by South Ossetia, Abkhazia

  MOSCOW, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday that Moscow will support any decision made by Georgia's breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia on their status.

"The position of the Russian Federation is unchanged. We shall support any decision the people of South Ossetia and Abkhazia will make in conformity with the United Nations Charter, the international convention of 1966, and the Helsinki act on security and cooperation in Europe," Medvedev was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying. 

Russia denounces U.S. statement on Russia-Georgia conflict

  MOSCOW, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday slammed the statement made by U.S. President George W. Bush on the conflict between Russia and Georgia, saying facts mentioned in the speech are untrue, Russian news agencies reported.

"I listened to George Bush's statement -- and was surprised -- the facts he cited are untrue," Lavrov was quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency as saying. He flatly denied the claims of the U.S. president that Russian troops had blocked Georgia's Black Seaport of Poti. 

Georgian parliament votes to quit CIS

  TBILISI, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Georgia's parliament voted Thursday to withdraw from three agreements concerning its membership of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), news reports reaching here from Russia said.

The resolution, unanimously supported by all the deputies at the emergency session, means that Georgia is quitting the CIS, according to the source. 

Ukrainian, U.S. presidents meet on situations in Georgia

  KIEV, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush talked over phone on Thursday to discuss situations in Georgia, the Ukrainian presidential office said in a statement.

"The talk focuses on Georgian situations, and measures that need to be taken to halt the conflict," said the statement. 

EU ready to send observers into Georgia, differ over response to Russia

  BRUSSELS, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) is ready to send observers to Georgia as announced after an emergency meeting of the foreign ministers here on Wednesday, despite failure to forge a united stance on how to respond to Russia's military action in South Ossetia. 

Bush sends Rice to France, Georgia to halt conflicts

  WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush said Wednesday that he is sending Secretary of State Rice to France and Georgia to discuss efforts to halt the conflicts between Georgia and Russia.

In a brief statement in the White House, Bush also demanded Russian troops now in Georgia must withdraw and said he is concerned that Russia might not have halted military operations in Georgia. 

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