Georgia/Russia

Russians to pull out Monday

Article published on the 2008-08-17 Latest update 2008-08-17 14:39 TU

Russian soldiers in Georgia.
(Photo : Reuters/D. Mdzinarishvili)

Russian forces will begin their pull-out from Georgia mid-day on Monday, President Dimitri Medvedev told his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy over the telephone Sunday, French authorities report.

France currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, and it was in this role that Sarkozy cautioned Medvedev of “serious consequences” if he did not respect the conditions of the ceasefire signed Saturday between Russia and Georgia.

Under the six-point ceasefire, Russian and Georgian forces are both obliged to withdraw from frontline positions, though Russian troops continued to hold key positions near Tbilisi Saturday evening.

“The Russians promised a lot of things, but [haven’t] withdrawn yet,” says RFI correspondent Régis Genté from Tbilisi. “When Condoleezza Rice was in Tbilisi Saturday … the Russian troops came very close to the Georgian capital – 40km from it.”

“First they promise things, and they don’t respect their promise. But in the meantime they are playing with some kind of also provocation,” Genté reports.

But Russian commanders on the ground report that the retreat has begun. Russian General Vyacheslav Borisov told the French news agency AFP that his forces were on the move towards Russia, following orders from Medvedev.

The Georgian population, however, remains in crisis. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) reported Friday that there are an estimated 118,000 internally displaced people in the country.

“Most of them will probably be refugees for the long term,” Genté said.

These populations remain at risk, especially in the authority vacuum in certain regions of Georgia.

According to certain reports, “there is looting, even organized [violence] from gangs coming from North Ossetia,” Genté reports.