Russian Forces Begin Gori Pullout

14 August 2008 -- Georgian officials say Russian forces have begun to pull out of the key Georgian city of Gori, where their continued presence raised fears that Russia would not abide by a French-brokered cease-fire agreement.

Georgia's Interior Ministry also says Georgian police have begun to move into the city just outside the breakaway region of South Ossetia, and along Georgia's main east-west highway.

Much of Gori's population fled just after the fighting between Georgian and Russian troops broke out one week ago. Those who stayed say the city was looted by Russian troops and paramilitaries.

They also complained of kidnappings and murders, but Russian commander Major-General Alexander Borisov told Georgian television Russian troops never entered Gori.

Meanwhile, Russian officials say they have officially opened an investigation into whether Georgian forces committed genocide when they attacked separatists in South Ossetia last week. The officials say 16,000 South Ossetians died in the fighting.

The Kremlin says Russian President Dmitri Medvedev spoke by phone late Wednesday with French President Nicholas Sarkozy.

A statement posted on the Kremlin's website says Mr. Medvedev told the French leader it was critical to ensure "a sustainable process of normalization" in the region.

Georgia and Russia have agreed to the main points of a French-brokered peace plan that calls for the withdrawal of forces from two Georgian breakaway regions, and free access for humanitarian aid workers. But Georgia has rejected calls for international talks on the future of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, saying its territorial integrity cannot be debated.

South Ossetia and Abkhazia declared independence from Georgia in the early 1990's, but have not been internationally recognized.

Source: VOA News

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