Russia demands Georgian troops retreat

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has told his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy that Georgian troops must return to their barracks in line with a French-brokered ceasefire.

A Kremlin statement said Mr Medvedev and Mr Sarkozy spent more than an hour discussing the Georgian crisis by telephone.

The Kremlin said: “The Russian side has stressed the need for Tbilisi to carry out point four of the Medvedev-Sarkozy plan, under which all Georgian troops should be returned to their original bases.”

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“(Mr Medvedev and Mr Sarkozy) also discussed additional agreements, which may in future ensure safety in the areas near the borders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.”

It did not say when the conversation took place, or on whose intiative.

France has joined other Western states in condemning Russia’s recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

• A d v e r t i s e m e n t

Moscow sent its troops into the two separatist regions of Georgia earlier this month to repel Tbilisi’s attempts to retake South Ossetia by force.

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