The FINANCIAL — French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned Russia's president Sunday, on August 17 of "serious consequences" in Moscow's relations with the European Union, if Russia does not comply with its cease-fire accord with Georgia.
According to the Washington Post, in a telephone call, Sarkozy told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that there must be a "withdrawal, without delay, of all the Russian military forces that entered Georgia since Aug. 7," Sarkozy's office said in a statement.
Medvedev promised the troop pullout would start Monday, on August 18, around midday, the statement said.
However, Mr Medvedev did not clearly state that additional troops sent to Georgia during the conflict would return to Russia, suggesting some troops may retreat only as far as South Ossetia. BBC reports.
According to Civil Georgia, Anatoly Nogovitsin, deputy chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces, said on 17th of August that preparations for troops’ withdrawal were underway.
“We are talking about gradual return of the Russian military units to the places of their permanent location on the territory of the Russian Federation,” he said at a news conference in Moscow.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported earlier on August 17 quoting Maj. Gen. Alexander Borisov, who is a commanding officer on the ground in Gori and surrounding areas, that “columns are moving from Tskhinvali to Russia. You must understand there are a large amount of troops,” he said suggesting that the withdrawal would take some time. Civil Georgia reports.
According to Civil Georgia, Russian soldiers are maintaining positions around Gori and on the key highway. Maj. Gen. Borisov also said that his units would remain on their positions to provide protection to military pullout. “We were the first in, so we'll be the last out,” he said.
Meanwhile, a local resident in Khashuri, a town close to Gori, in the west, told Civil.Ge on August 17, that locals had seen Russian soldiers at the Georgia’s military barracks in Osiauri, close to Khashuri.
According to Civil Georgia, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said that the Abkhaz militiamen took control over the two Georgian villages on the border – Ganmukhuri and Khurcha, which are administratively part of the Zugdidi district.
“Abkhazian separatist government set up temporary administration,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry said.
According to the Washington Post, western pressure has been increasing on Moscow to withdraw its forces under the cease-fire deal over South Ossetia, one of Georgia's two separatist provinces.
The U.S. and France have accused Russia of defying the truce, as Russian tanks and troops continued to roam freely across a wide swath of Georgian territory.
