French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner has claimed that Russia has failed to honour obligations agreed as part of a ceasefire brokered by the European Union. The deal ended a war with Georgia.
In August, Russian troops joined on South Ossetia's side after Georgia moved in in an attempt to regain control of the breakaway region. Russia also moved troops into Abkhazia and nearby areas to create security zones. These buffer zones were vacated by troops this week, and today Russia was due to completely withdrawal from Georgia.
France - who lead the brokering efforts as the EU's current presidential nation - say that Russian troops remain in the South Ossetian towns of Akhalgori and Perevi. According to the ceasefire, troops were supposed to return to their positions before the five-day conflict. However, Kouchner's phrasing was optimistic as he spoke to reporters today.
When asked if Russia had withdrawn, he said "I think so, but partly. This is not complete. This is not perfect. It's just the beginning. This is not the end," and that "Not everything has been achieved... That's why we'll continue talks in Geneva."
However, Russia's President, Dmitry Medvedev, says Russia has fully complied with the terms agreed on. "We have met all the obligations we accepted in the first document, the Medvedev-Sarkozy plan, and the second document, which was agreed on not long ago in Moscow," he told reporters. Russia has recognized South Ossetia as an independent nation, and had entered into a supporting military alliance.

Have an opinion on this story? Share it!
Share this: 






This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.
Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.
Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.
Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.
France claims Russia has violated some terms of ceasefire with Georgia