Georgia calls for 'immediate' negotiations on ceasefire
Georgia has 'withdrawn' its military forces from the separatist region of South Ossetia
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Sunday, 10, Aug 2008 10:45
Georgia has told Russia it is ready to "immediately start negotiations" on a ceasefire and end the current fighting in South Ossetia, reports say.
It claims to have withdrawn its military forces from the separatist region, where they had been fighting Russian troops for control of the regional capital Tskhinvali.
The Georgian interior ministry said earlier today: "They have been withdrawn completely", adding that an additional 10,000 Russian troops had entered the country in two places.
Russia, however, claimed that Georgia has not withdrawn from the region and earlier Russian jets bombed a military airfield and the international airport close to Georgia's capital Tbilisi.
Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili told the BBC that the withdrawal had been necessary due to the mass casualties suffered in Georgia and South Ossetia.
According to Russian and South Ossetian estimates, around 1,600 people have been killed in the fierce clashes since Thursday night.
Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin called for an investigation into the actions of Georgian troops in South Ossetia, saying: "In my opinion there are already elements of some of kind of genocide of the Ossetian people."
Georgia's pro-western president Mikheil Saakahvili rejected the claims, calling them "a lie", adding that the Russians had engaged in a "brutal unprovoked invasion" of his country.
"What they are doing is nothing to do with conflict, it is about annihilation of a democracy of their borders," he told the BBC.
Georgia claims it has today ordered a ceasefire and called for immediate talks with the Kremlin.
The United States earlier criticised Russia's action in the region, describing the situation as "dangerous and disproportionate", and claiming they may affect the long-term relations between the two countries.
Yesterday, Russian planes carried out raids on the Georgian town of Gori as well as a number of military sites.
Although most of the targets appear to be military, Georgian officials claim up to 60 people were killed in the bombing of residential buildings.
As a result, Georgia's parliament approved a presidential decree declaring a state of war for the next two weeks.
On Sunday, as tensions continued to escalate, Russian warships were deployed off Georgia's Black Sea coast and Ukraine threatened to block their return claiming it did not want to be involved in the conflict.
Separatists in the Abkhazia region are also said to have fully mobilised as the fierce clashes with Georgia continue.
Fighting began on Thursday night when Georgian troops launched a surprise attack to regain control of South Ossetia.