September 09, 2008	Tuesday	Ramazan 8, 1429

BARVIKHA (Russia), Sept 8: Russia agreed on Monday to withdraw all troops from Georgia within a month but reaffirmed its support for the independence of two rebel regions where Russian forces will remain.

The new timetable was announced by French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the head of an EU delegation in Moscow to press the Kremlin to abide by a ceasefire accord he brokered last month to end the five day Russia-Georgia war.

Speaking alongside Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Sarkozy said the new deal stipulated “in one month, the complete pull-out of Russian forces from Georgian territory, outside South Ossetia and Abkhazia.” Medvedev said he had agreed on the deployment of at least 200 European Union observers in Georgia by October 1 to monitor the ceasefire as Russian troops withdraw.

He added that there would be a “complete withdrawal of Russian peacekeeping forces” from zones adjacent to South Ossetia and Abkhazia 10 days after the deployment of the EU observers.

As Sarkozy pressed for fresh Russian commitments, the United States said it was preparing to put a nuclear pact on ice to punish Russia for going to war with Georgia a month ago.

Russia’s military surged into Georgia on August 8 to repulse a Georgian offensive to retake South Ossetia. Moscow argued that the action was to protect thousands of people granted Russian citizenship since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Hundreds of people on both sides are estimated to have been killed in the conflict, which wrought extensive destruction on the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali. Tens of thousands were forced to flee their homes.

The conflict has plunged relations between Russia and the West to a tense post-Cold War low, with an angry war of words developing between Russia and the United States.

In Washington an official said that the United States would pull a US-Russia civilian nuclear pact from consideration by the US Congress because of Moscow’s actions in Georgia.

The decision would be announced on Monday and delays the accord, but “we can review later to see if we want to resubmit” it for approval by the US Congress, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Russia had been accused of not honouring the ceasefire accord and then infuriated the West further by recognising South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Moscow has argued that its troops in Georgia -- thought to number a few thousand -- were in line with the ceasefire which foresaw “additional security measures” by Russia in the conflict zone.

But Georgia, whose army was routed by the Russians after launching an ill-fated assault to regain control of South Ossetia, views the remaining soldiers as an occupying force and accused Russia on Monday of deploying more troops.

“The Russian occupation force is reinforcing, rather than vacating, its checkpoints near the strategic commercial port of Poti,” a Georgian government statement said.

Sarkozy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana flew from Moscow to Tbilisi for talks with Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili.

Georgia accused Russia before the UN’s highest court in The Hague on Monday of conducting a long-running campaign of “ethnic cleansing” in Georgian territory.

Russia has not responded publicly to the Georgian application but says Georgia committed “genocide” with its assault on Tskhinvali.—AFP