RUSSIA has only partially met its obligations in Georgia under an EU-negotiated ceasefire, the French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner declared yesterday as he toured damaged villages and spoke to displaced people in Georgia.
He confirmed that Russia had met the Friday deadline to withdraw hundreds of troops from strips of land in Georgia outside the separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. But Mr Kouchner suggested Moscow had not met all its obligations. The cea
sefire stipulated it must withdraw to positions held before the five-day war broke out 7 August.
"The withdrawal is complete on the first part of the agreement. Of course, the agreement is not complete at all, and it is not a perfect agreement," Mr Kouchner said at a refugee camp in the central city of Gori, which was heavily bombed.
He said further talks were needed to resolve disputes over the regions, which are still under Russian control.
But Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev, speaking on a visit to Kyrgyzstan, insisted Russia had met its pledges.
Besides touring ravaged villages near South Ossetia, Mr Kouchner also visited a headquarters for EU monitors who are patrolling the territory.
Georgian refugees are returning to their homes, but many houses have been destroyed by arson and vandalism that they blame on Ossetians.
"I'm glad that he's come here so that he can see what happened with his own eyes," said Jimal Tibilashvili, 53, who fled with his wife during the war.
He returned yesterday to his village, Tkviavi, to find his home destroyed – and he plans to go back to Tbilisi, Georgia's capital, because he fears unexploded ordnance. A neighbour was injured by what appeared to be a cluster bomb.
Mr Kouchner stopped at a police station with shattered windows and debris strewn across the floor. Its commander said Russian forces and their local allies were responsible.
Russia recognised South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent nations after the war and plans to keep 3,800 troops in each region – a much bigger presence than before the war.
Russia insists it has no plans to pull out of parts of the breakaway regions that were under Georgian control before the war, including Abkhazia's Kodori Gorge and the town of Akhalgori in South Ossetia.
The full article contains 385 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
