MOSCOW, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev said Tuesday Moscow will withdraw its troops from Georgia by Friday
under the terms of a French-brokered peace plan, the Kremlin said in a
statement.
"Some of the peacekeepers will be pulled back to the
temporary security zone by Aug. 22," Medvedev told his French counterpart
Nicolas Sarkozy by phone.
Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev (R)
and France's President Nicolas Sarkozy meet in Moscow's Kremlin, August
12, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
"The rest of the (Russian) military contingent, which
was sent to reinforce peacekeepers, will be withdrawn to South Ossetia and
Russia," the RIA Novosti news agency quoted Medvedev as saying.
Russia declared a halt to its military offensive in
Georgia last Tuesday after days of conflict in Georgia's breakaway region of
South Ossetia.
Medvedev on Saturday signed the peace plan, under
which Georgian troops should return to their bases and Russian forces should
pull back to its previous positions.
Russian troops and armored vehicles have begun to
pull out from the Georgia on Monday.
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council concluded on late Tuesday afternoon its emergency consultations on Georgia without reaching any agreement.
During the open meeting, UN political chief Lynn Pascoe and UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Edmond Mulet briefed the council on the latest developments in Georgia. Full story
Russian troops and armored vehicles pull
out from the city of Gori, Georgia, Aug. 18, 2008. (Xinhua/Shen
Bohan) Photo
Gallery>>>
MOSCOW, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Russian troops have begun
pulling out of Georgia in line with the French-brokered six-point peace plan, a
senior Russian military official said Tuesday.
"We shall comply with all of the six items of the plan at
a pace the situation allows for," Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of
the Russian General Staff, was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying. Full story
MOSCOW, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Moscow will draw conclusions
from NATO's pro-Georgian stance, and the future of the Russia-NATO Council
"depends on our partners," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said
Tuesday.
The Russia-NATO Council was not established to teach
Russia on how to behave towards Georgia, but to ensure security in Europe and
the Euro-Atlantic region, Lavrov said. Full story
BRUSSELS, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Russia's ambassador to NATO
warned the alliance on Tuesday against allowing Georgia into NATO.
The Georgia-Russia conflict over South Ossetia would have
brought NATO into war with Russia if the alliance granted Georgia its membership
action plan at the NATO summit in April, said ambassador Dmitry Rogozin. Full story
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
holds a news conference during a NATO foreign ministers meeting at the
Alliance headquarters in Brussels August 19, 2008. (Xinhua/Shen
Bohan) Photo
Gallery>>>
BRUSSELS, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- NATO will not allow a new
line to be drawn between its members and those seeking membership of the
alliance, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said here Tuesday.
Rice was speaking at a press conference after an
extraordinary meeting of NATO foreign ministers on the situation in Georgia. Full story
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer attends a press conference after an extraordinary meeting of NATO
foreign ministers on the situation in Georgia, at NATO headquarters in
Brussels, Belgium, Aug. 19, 2008. NATO has called for an immediate
withdrawal of Russian troops to positions held on Aug. 6, the day before
the conflict with Georgia broke out in South Ossetia, while reiterating
the alliance's full support for Georgian sovereignty and territorial
integrity. (Xinhua/Xu Jinquan) Photo
Gallery>>>
BRUSSELS, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- NATO has called for an
immediate withdrawal of Russian troops to positions held on Aug. 6, the day
before the conflict with Georgia broke out in South Ossetia, while reiterating
the alliance's full support for Georgian sovereignty and territorial integrity.
"We call on Russia to take immediate action to withdraw
its troops from the areas it is supposed to leave under the six-point agreement
signed by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev. The alliance is considering seriously the implications of Russia's
actions for the NATO-Russia Relationship," said a statement issued after an
emergency NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels. Full story
