Not budging. Russian troops in Georgia
Photo: AP
Fighting in South Ossetia
Photo: Reuters
No sign of Russian pullout, West alarmed
Despite announcement that gradual withdrawal was underway, no Russian tanks or armored personnel carriers seen leaving Georgia. 'I hope world has woken up to what is going on. The Russians should get out of my country,' Georgian President Saakashvili says
Russian troops and tanks did not move out of Georgia overnight through the main military crossing point, despite a Russian announcement that a gradual withdrawal was underway.
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Russia's partial occupation of Georgia following a brief war over the rebel, pro-Moscow province of South Ossetia has alarmed the West. The United States has demanded that the Kremlin abide by the terms of a ceasefire deal and pull out without delay.
A Reuters correspondent, who spent the night on the only road linking Russia's southern garrison town of Vladikavkaz with South Ossetia, said early Tuesday he had seen no troop movements out of Georgia.
"I didn't see any tanks or armored personnel carriers leaving the conflict zone," he said. Only a few ambulances and trucks carrying construction materials were seen, heading for South Ossetia from Russia.
In a separate move, Moscow closed its land border with Georgia and neighboring Azerbaijan to citizens who are not from the CIS, a grouping of former Soviet states.
A decree signed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the move was needed to "prevent weapons smuggling and members of foreign terrorist organizations from entering Russia".
Air, rail and sea links between Russia and its former Soviet vassal Georgia have already been cut. The virtual blockade has hurt Georgia's economy, which depends heavily on trade with Russia.
The news came as ministers from the NATO military alliance meet in Brussels on Tuesday to consider a US proposal to punish Russia by suspending ministerial meetings with Moscow.
NATO ministers were also expected to reiterate a commitment to eventual membership for Georgia. Moscow is strongly opposed to states on its borders joining what it regards as a hostile military alliance.
Conflict erupted over South Ossetia when Georgia sent in troops and tanks to try to take back the province on August 7-8, provoking a huge counter-attack from Russia.
Western powers have condemned Russia's response as disproportionate while Moscow says it was necessary in order to protect Russian citizens and Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia and prevent Georgia from carrying out a "genocide".
Russia's General Staff had said on Monday afternoon that a pullback from Georgia was underway, though it gave no timetable. The deputy chief of the General Staff, Col-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn said that a troop pullback was different from a withdrawal, though he did not clarify his remarks.
'They will rename themselves peacekeepers'
A second Reuters correspondent who travelled along the main road on Monday evening connecting the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali with the Roki Tunnel said he had also not seen any Russian tanks or armored personnel carriers moving back along the road towards Russia.
Within Georgia proper, armed Georgian policemen and Russian soldiers guarded separate checkpoints only a few hundred meters apart in the village of Igoeti in central Georgia, about 45 km (28 miles) from the Georgian capital Tbilisi.
A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were no signs yet that the Russian forces had begun to leave. Georgia said they were broadening their presence.
"I hope the world has woken up to what is going on. The Russians should get out of my country," Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili told reporters during a Tbilisi church service late on Monday. "The worst thing the world could do would be to compromise and show weakness."
Some analysts think Russia may drag its feet in pulling out its troops to keep economic and social pressure on Saakashvili and on his pro-US government, which Moscow strongly dislikes.
"The Russians will invent all kinds of excuses, pretexts not to pull back their troops," Alexander Rondeli of the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies said.
"They will rename themselves peacekeepers, maintain their positions in the security zone."
Russia has said its soldiers have pushed into Georgia from South Ossetia to build a security zone to protect the South Ossetians. The peace agreement permits Moscow to patrol a limited buffer zone between South Ossetia and Georgia proper.
But Russian checkpoints now block the main east-west highway, a vital trade route which links Tbilisi with Georgia's Black Sea ports. Russian soldiers have also moved into towns in western Georgia, controlling traffic and movement.
Moscow has accused Georgian snipers of firing on its soldiers and sabotaging positions despite the ceasefire signed last week.
But there is some evidence that Russia is also taking advantage of its presence in Georgia to destroy Tbilisi's newly enhanced military capability.
A Reuters cameraman in the western town of Senaki—home to a large Georgian military base—heard three loud explosions on Monday. Russian troops had cleared the area and would not allow access to reporters. Similar blasts were heard near the central town of Gori, where another Georgian base is located.
Saakashvili had embarked on a big military build-up since coming to power in 2003, boosting defense spending sharply and bringing in US Military advisers to upgrade the country's military to NATO standards.
