Georgia/Russia

Medvedev ends Georgia incursion

Article published on the 2008-08-12 Latest update 2008-08-13 09:22 TU

Russian troops in Abkhazia.
(Photo: Reuters)

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev on Tuesday called an end to the advance of his troops into Georgia, in the conflict over disputed regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. French President Nicolas Sarkozy met with Medvedev in an attempt to broker peace in the conflict that has blown up between Russia and Georgia over the South Ossetia region.

 

Medvedev said he and Sarkozy had agreed on a six-point peace plan. He described the plan as "a good basis for solving the problem".

Meanwhile the leaders of two Russian-backed rebel regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, ruled out talks with Georgia's leaders, accusing them of war crimes, Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday.

"There can be no talks with organisers of genocide...Only judges at an international tribunal should talk to them," South Ossetia's leader, Eduard Kokoity, was quoted as saying. Abkhaz rebel leader Sergei Bagapsh said: "There will be no more negotiations with Georgia."

"One should put state criminals on trial," Bagapsh added. The two separatist leaders have long ruled out bilateral talks with Tbilisi

During negotiations, the French President said the deployment of EU peacekeepers in the region was a possibility. He said Medvedev had told him Russian forces had "no intention" of staying in Georgia.

Earlier on Tuesday, Russian troops confirmed having receiving an order to cease fire.

"The purpose of the operation has been achieved.... The security of our peacekeeping forces and the civilian population has been restored," Medvedev declared at a meeting with Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and the head of the military's general staff, Nikolai Makarov.

"The aggressor has been punished and suffered significant losses," he said. No order to withdraw from South Ossetia or Abkhazia seems to have been issued.

On Monday Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, had rejected a three-point French peace plan and earlier on Tuesday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the only way to end the conflict is for Georgia to withdraw from South Ossetia.