Russia Pulls Back From Georgian Checkpoint

Georgian troops have begun clearing Russian positions (Photo: AFP.The Telegraph)

Russia Begins Georgia Pull Out -- The Telegraph

Russia has dismantled a checkpoint and begun pulling a small number of troops out of Georgia.

The moves raised hopes that the crisis in the Caucasus could be concluded peacefully despite a deadly car bomb attack last week in the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

A company of soldiers dismantled a checkpoint near the village of Ali on the southwest perimeter of a buffer zone surrounding South Ossetia, the separatist region that has, with Moscow's support, fought a 17-year rebellion against the Georgian government.

Russian soldiers also appeared to be preparing to withdraw from two more villages, one near South Ossetia and a second outside Zugdidi, a city close to Abkhazia, another Moscow-backed rebel region.

Under an European Union-brokered deal negotiated by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Russia is supposed to withdraw all its troops from undisputed Georgian territory by Friday. Russia occupied positions deep inside Georgia proper in the days after a ceasefire was signed to end a five-day war in August.

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More News On Georgia/Russia:

Russia starts pull-back from Georgian war zones -- AFP
Russian troops begin dismantling posts in Georgia -- China View
Russia clears Georgia checkpoint -- Al Jazeera
Russia removes Georgia checkpoint -- BBC News
Russian troops start dismantling posts in Georgia -- International Herald Tribune
EU Georgia monitors see sign of Russian pullback -- Reuters
Russian troops start pullout from Georgia - local TV -- RIA Novosti

Violence Mars Russia-Georgia Talks Before Rice Trip

A map of Georgia showing the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The head of Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia region has called for talks with Tbilisi to defuse mounting tensions over the Moscow-backed region. (AFP/Graphic)

From Reuters:

MOSCOW, July 9 (Reuters) - Bombings and gun battles in two breakaway regions of Georgia are threatening efforts to ease a standoff between Tbilisi and Moscow, hours before U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits the Georgian capital.

Rice, who arrives in Tbilisi on Wednesday, is expected to appeal for restraint on all sides but also express support for former Soviet Georgia's push to join the NATO military alliance, an ambition that has angered Russia.

"We said that both Georgia and Russia need to avoid provocative behaviour," Rice said as she flew to Europe on Tuesday. She also said "some of the things that Russia did over the last couple of months added to tensions in the region."

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More News On Russia-Georgia Conflict

Russia seeks UN role for Georgia deal -- Sydney Morning Herald
Abkhazia rejects U.S. proposals for an international police presence -- International Herald Tribune
Russia submits UN draft text critical of Georgia -- Reuters
Russia says Georgia whipping up tensions with separatists -- AFP
Georgian rebel region calls for peace talks: report -- AFP
Georgia plans operation to free detained soldiers -- Reuters

Video: Abkhazia calls on the world to stop 'Georgian terror' -- RussiaToday


My Comment: With Chechnya destroyed after 14 years of conflict, you would hope that all the players in the region would be careful with what they say and do. But this is clearly not the case. Russian intervention would blow this region apart and create a catastrophe that would equal Chechnya. The Georgians must walk this path very carefully.