Russia/Georgia

Rice calls for Russian withdrawal

Article published on the 2008-08-15 Latest update 2008-08-15 19:04 TU

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (L) and Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili
(Reuters)

On Friday US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and called for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia. German Chancellor, Angela Merkel met Russian president Dmitry Medevev and said "Georgian territorial integrity" was the key issue.

US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, was in the Georgian capital on Friday and said the peace agreement between Georgia and Russia should be modified "to make sure that Georgian interests are protected."

She confirmed that Saakashvili had signed the ceasefire agreement. "With the signing of this accord, all Russian troops (...) must leave immediately", she said. She claimed that an assurance by Medvedev that military operations had stopped "clearly was not honoured".

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev (R) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel
(Reuters)

German chancellor Angela Merkel met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday at a Black Sea resort. Speaking afterwards she said the key issue was Georgian territorial integrity. "The basic point for a political solution must be Georgia's territorial integrity", she said.

Also on Friday Georgian authorities discussed the handover of the city of Gori with Russian generals. Georgia's Interior Ministry said it was unclear when Russian troops would leave the city.

Meanwhile efforts to deliver aid to Georgia continued for the third day on Friday. Two US planes brought the amount of aid delivered so far to 82 tonnes. The Pentagon said two more flights were scheduled for Saturday.

The UN said on Friday that 118,000 people had been displaced in the Georgia-Russia conflict. The organisation's High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, will visit Moscow and Georgia next week to obtain greater access for aid agencies.

Russia has agreed to the delivery of UN aid next week to Northern Ossetia but aid organisations have said that banditry is making it difficult to distribute aid to some of the worst-hit areas.

A spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross said the security situation in the Georgian capital Tbilisi did not allow the group to access the city.