Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev (R)
and German Chancellor Angela Merkel meet for talks at the presidential
residence at the Black Sea resort of Sochi, August 15, 2008.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
MOSCOW, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- President Dmitry Medvedev
said Sunday that Russia will start withdrawing its troops from Georgia Monday,
the Kremlin said.
Medvedev told his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy
in a telephone conversation that Georgia must abide by its commitment to
withdrawing military units to their home bases unconditionally, the Kremlin said
in a statement.
The two presidents discussed the implementation of
the six-point plan for settling the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict, it said.
The Kremlin statement came as German Chancellor
Angela Merkel arrived in Tbilisi on a brief visit to Georgia. Her trip to
Tbilisi was preceded by visits of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and U.S.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Merkel will hold talks with Georgian President
Mikhail Saakashvili on the implementation of the French-brokered peace plan, the
Georgian government office told the Interfax news agency.
Medvedev on Saturday signed the peace plan, which was
earlier signed by Saakashvili and the leaders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two
breakaway regions of of Georgia.
The document bans the use of force and any military
action and envisages free access to humanitarian aid. Under the agreement,
Georgian troops should return to their bases and the Russian military should
pull back to its previous positions.
Russian troops ride atop armored
vehicles near the village of Khurcha heading towards the border of Georgia
in breakaway region of Abkhazia August 10,
2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Saturday
the pace of Russian withdrawal would depend on "how extra security measures for
the peacekeeping force are being put into practice on the ground."
Russia declared a halt to its military offensive in
Georgia Tuesday after days of conflicts with the Caucasus nation in South
Ossetia.
PARIS, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- French President Nicolas
Sarkozy on Sunday urged Russia to withdraw "without delay" all its military
forces that entered Georgia since Aug. 7, the presidential office said in a
statement.
"There will be serious consequences" if Russia does
not honor its cease-fire agreement with Georgia, the French president told his
Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in a phone conversation. Full story
TBILISI, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Visiting German Chancellor
Angela Merkel said here Sunday that Russian troops should withdraw from Georgia
in a speedy manner.
"Russian troops should leave Georgia and we have an
understanding to this end with (Russian) President (Dmitry) Medvedev," the
Interfax news agency quoted Merkel as saying after meeting with Georgian
President Mikhail Saakashvili. Full story
Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili
speaks during a news briefing in Tbilisi after talks with U.S. Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice Aug. 15, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
TBILISI, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Georgian President Mikhail
Saakashvili said on Friday that he has signed the peace plan to settle the
conflict between his country and its breakaway region of South Ossetia.
Saakashvili made the statement at a press conference after
talks with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Full story
MOSCOW, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev said Friday his country expects Georgia to give its written consent to
the principles for settling the conflict between Georgia and its breakaway
region of South Ossetia, the Interfax news agency reported.
"Now these principles should be accepted by Georgia
and need to be followed, with guarantees from Russia, the Council of Europe, and
the OSCE (the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe). I hope this
will happen in the near future. We expect relevant information," Medvedev was
quoted by Interfax as saying. Full story
MOSCOW, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- A senior Russian general
said Thursday that Russia questioned cargoes airlifted by the United States to
Georgia were really humanitarian aid, Russian news agencies reported.
"U.S. military transport aircraft are reported to
have been airlifting some humanitarian cargoes to Tbilisi airport," Col.
Gen.Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy head of Russia's General Staff, was quoted by the
RIA Novosti news agency as saying at a press conference. Full story
MOSCOW, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev said Thursday that Moscow will support any decision made by Georgia's
breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia on their status.
"The position of the Russian Federation is unchanged.
We shall support any decision the people of South Ossetia and Abkhazia will make
in conformity with the United Nations Charter, the international convention of
1966, and the Helsinki act on security and cooperation in Europe," Medvedev was
quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying. Full story
MOSCOW, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday slammed the statement made by U.S. President George
W. Bush on the conflict between Russia and Georgia, saying facts mentioned in
the speech are untrue, Russian news agencies reported.
"I listened to George Bush's statement -- and was
surprised -- the facts he cited are untrue," Lavrov was quoted by the RIA
Novosti news agency as saying. He flatly denied the claims of the U.S. president
that Russian troops had blocked Georgia's Black Seaport of Poti. Full story
TBILISI, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Georgia's parliament voted
Thursday to withdraw from three agreements concerning its membership of the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), news reports reaching here from Russia
said.
The resolution, unanimously supported by all the
deputies at the emergency session, means that Georgia is quitting the CIS,
according to the source. Full story
KIEV, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Viktor
Yushchenko and his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush talked over phone on Thursday
to discuss situations in Georgia, the Ukrainian presidential office said in a
statement.
"The talk focuses on Georgian situations, and
measures that need to be taken to halt the conflict," said the statement.
Full story
BRUSSELS, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) is
ready to send observers to Georgia as announced after an emergency meeting of
the foreign ministers here on Wednesday, despite failure to forge a united
stance on how to respond to Russia's military action in South Ossetia. Full story
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W.
Bush said Wednesday that he is sending Secretary of State Rice to France and
Georgia to discuss efforts to halt the conflicts between Georgia and Russia.
In a brief statement in the White House, Bush also
demanded Russian troops now in Georgia must withdraw and said he is concerned
that Russia might not have halted military operations in Georgia. Full story
