Russia: Troops Will Begin Pullout From Georgia On Monday
GORI, Georgia (AP) — Russia says it’s going to start pulling its troops out of neighboring Georgia Monday, but a top Moscow lawmaker says how long the withdrawal takes will depend, in his words, on “how Georgians will continue to behave.”
A cease-fire calls for both sides to pull back to where they were before tension between Russia and the former Soviet republic turned into full-blown warfare more than a week ago.
In the central Georgian city of Gori the streets were almost empty Sunday, except for clusters of people crowding around aid vehicles, desperate for bread handouts.
The U.S. says it’s looking for some reassurance from Moscow that it’s not turning back to the Cold War.
Georgia’s president, meantime, says he’ll never give up the nation’s claim to two disputed regions, even though they are now firmly under the control of Russian forces and the separatist fighters they’re backing.
