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Russia to keep posts in Georgia Russia 'honours' ceasefire deal
(about 3 hours later)
A senior Russian general says Moscow intends to maintain a military presence of more than 2,000 troops in Georgia. Russia says it has fulfilled a pledge to withdraw its combat troops from Georgia in line with a ceasefire deal.
Gen Anatoly Nogovitsyn said Russian forces would be stationed around the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the focus of recent conflict. The defence ministry said only soldiers manning pre-existing peacekeeping checkpoints remained in Georgia proper.
BBC correspondents on the ground say they have seen what appears to be a significant troop movement from Georgian positions to South Ossetia. However, a Russian general said earlier that 2,000 troops would be stationed in "buffer zones" around the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Correspondents say it is not clear how far the zones will extend into Georgian territory or if Tbilisi will acquiesce.
The "buffer zones" extend far beyond any pre-existing security zones, and the BBC's diplomatic correspondent, Jonathan Marcus, says Western diplomats fear that Moscow is determined to define the parameters of the interim security arrangements in its own terms.
See a map of the region
Our correspondent says that part of the problem is the extraordinary vagueness of the EU-brokered ceasefire deal, which speaks only of "additional security measures" in "the immediate proximity of South Ossetia" - proximity being defined as a distance of "several kilometres".
Georgia has said it will not accept any "annexation" of its land by Russia.Georgia has said it will not accept any "annexation" of its land by Russia.
Russia's land forces commander earlier said that all Russian combat troops would be moved back from Georgia proper to South Ossetia by the weekend and that most of the soldiers sent to the region as reinforcements would return to Russia within 10 days.
The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse says he has witnessed hundreds of Russian armoured vehicles, including tanks and armoured personnel carriers, withdrawing from the town of Igoeti, about 35km (21 miles) from the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.See a map of the region
Our correspondent says buses of Georgian police are arriving to take control after Russian troops removed their road block and pulled out.
There are also reports of a pull-back from the Georgian flashpoint town of Gori to South Ossetia.
'Snail's pace''Snail's pace'
At a briefing in Moscow, the deputy chief of the Russian military general staff, Gen Nogovitsyn, said the withdrawal of all combat troops was going according to plan. At a briefing in Moscow, the deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, Gen Anatoly Nogovitsyn, said the withdrawal of all combat troops was going according to plan.
"The troop pull-back has been started at a rate to make sure that the Russian troops be within the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent by the end of 22 August," he said."The troop pull-back has been started at a rate to make sure that the Russian troops be within the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent by the end of 22 August," he said.
FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME PEACE PLAN No more use of forceStop all military actions for goodFree access to humanitarian aidGeorgian troops return to their places of permanent deploymentRussian troops to return to pre-conflict positionsInternational talks about security in South Ossetia and Abkhazia class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7577122.stm">Crisis day-by-day class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7571096.stm">Who started the conflict? class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7577436.stm">Eyewitness: Russian withdrawal class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7577201.stm">In pictures: Troops on the move
"We are not going to correct this plan or increase the speed of withdrawal."
Gen Nogovitsyn said Russian troops were setting up checkpoints on the borders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia with Georgia.Gen Nogovitsyn said Russian troops were setting up checkpoints on the borders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia with Georgia.
The so-called zone of responsibility also includes Georgia's main airbase at Senaki, and cuts across Georgia's main east-west highway, which stretches from Tbilisi to the Black Sea. But the so-called "zone of responsibility" also includes Georgia's main airbase at Senaki, some 40km (25 miles) from the boundary with Abkhazia, which sits astride vital road and rail links to the Black Sea port of Poti.
Russian officials say the zone was established in principle in an agreement between Russia and Georgia which pre-dates this month's conflict, but was never put into force. BBC correspondents on the ground say they have seen what appears to be a significant Russian troop movement out of Georgia.
Georgian State Minister for Reintegration Temur Iakobashvili told Reuters that such a zone was "a violation of any agreement". The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in Igoeti - just 35km (21 miles) from the capital, Tbilisi - lesays he saw Russian troops leave the town, joining a column of hundreds of armoured vehicles on the road towards South Ossetia.
PEACE PLAN No more use of forceStop all military actions for goodFree access to humanitarian aidGeorgian troops return to their places of permanent deploymentRussian troops to return to pre-conflict positionsInternational talks about security in South Ossetia and Abkhazia class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7577122.stm">Crisis day-by-day class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7571096.stm">Who started the crisis? class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7568209.stm">Nato's Russia dilemma Our correspondent says buses of Georgian police are arriving in Igoeti to take control after Russian troops removed their roadblocks and pulled out.
Russia's four-day war with Georgia began after Tbilisi tried to retake the Moscow-backed breakaway province of South Ossetia on 7 August, following days of clashes with separatists. But another correspondent in the nearby town of Korvaleti says Georgian police vehicles there are still being blocked at checkpoints.
The fighting ended with an EU-brokered ceasefire deal, and a promise by Moscow to pull back its forces by 22 August.
But the commander of US forces in Europe, Gen John Craddock, said Russia was taking too long to pull back, saying "if they are moving, it is at a snail's pace".
The first of the Russian Black Sea Fleet warships, which have been deployed off the west coast of Georgia's province of Abkhazia, has returned to its base at Sevastopol in Ukraine.The first of the Russian Black Sea Fleet warships, which have been deployed off the west coast of Georgia's province of Abkhazia, has returned to its base at Sevastopol in Ukraine.
Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko criticised Russia's use of ships from the base leased to Moscow, saying there was a danger of his country being passively drawn into an international conflict against its will. Protesters reportedly greeted the ship's return on Friday. Desperate need
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, has arrived in the capital of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, to assess the humanitarian situation there. Russia's four-day war with Georgia began after Tbilisi tried to retake the Moscow-backed breakaway province of South Ossetia on 7 August, following days of clashes with separatists.
Thousands of civilians are reported to be in urgent need of relief suppliesThe fighting ended with an EU-brokered ceasefire deal, and a promise by Moscow to pull back the bulk of its forces by 22 August.
The commander of US forces in Europe, Gen John Craddock, said earlier that Russia was taking too long to withdraw, and added "if they are moving, it is at a snail's pace".
Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, has arrived in the capital of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, to assess the humanitarian situation there.
Thousands of civilians are reported to be in urgent need of relief supplies.Thousands of civilians are reported to be in urgent need of relief supplies.
The UN estimates that nearly 160,000 people have been displaced across the whole of Georgia since the conflict began.The UN estimates that nearly 160,000 people have been displaced across the whole of Georgia since the conflict began.
The Georgian government is seeking $1-2bn (£0.5-1bn) in aid to repair and develop infrastructure following the conflict with Russia, the head of the US government aid agency, USAid, said. The World Bank has also announced that it is sending a team of experts to the country to assess its reconstruction needs. The Georgian government is seeking $1-2bn (£0.5-1bn) in aid to repair and develop infrastructure following the conflict with Russia, the head of the US government aid agency, USAid, said.
The World Bank has also announced that it is sending a team of experts to the country to assess its reconstruction needs.
'War with Nato''War with Nato'
Diplomatic efforts at the UN have reached deadlock over rival resolutions on the crisis from France and Russia.Diplomatic efforts at the UN have reached deadlock over rival resolutions on the crisis from France and Russia.
Thousands of civilians are reported to be in urgent need of relief suppliesRussia has reiterated its opposition to a rival French text, which reaffirms Georgia's territorial integrity. Russia has reiterated its opposition to a rival French text, which reaffirms Georgia's territorial integrity.
FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME
Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili told the BBC he would never accept what he called Russia's "annexation of its territory".Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili told the BBC he would never accept what he called Russia's "annexation of its territory".
He warned that Russia's involvement in South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Georgia were intended to send a strong message to the West. He warned that Russia's involvement in South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Georgia was intended to send a strong message to the West, and he called for "a united response" from Nato.
"If Nato fails now to come up with a united response, nobody's safe, even if they are in Nato already," he said. "It's all about reconsidering the role of Nato, the role of international law and borders in this part of the world. This is no longer about Georgia anymore," he said.
"It's all about reconsidering the role of Nato, the role of international law and borders in this part of the world. This is no longer about Georgia anymore.
"Russia decided to win war with Nato without firing a single shot at it.""Russia decided to win war with Nato without firing a single shot at it."
A Nato spokeswoman says Russia's defence ministry has decided to halt all military co-operation with the bloc to protest at what Moscow calls the alliance's biased, pro-Georgian view of the conflict. A Nato spokeswoman says Russia's defence ministry has decided to halt all military co-operation with the bloc to protest at what Moscow calls the alliance's biased, pro-Georgian view of the conflict.
The move by Moscow followed a Nato statement that there would be no "business as usual" with Moscow unless its troops pulled out of Georgia.The move by Moscow followed a Nato statement that there would be no "business as usual" with Moscow unless its troops pulled out of Georgia.
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