Russian troops 'complete Georgia withdrawal'
Wednesday, 08 Oct 2008 19:57
Russian troops complete withdrawal from buffer zone outside Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia region
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Russian troops have completed their withdrawal from a buffer zone outside Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia region.
The withdrawal, confirmed by both Tbilisi and Moscow, comes two months after the end of the countries' ten-day conflict.
Georgian interior ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said. "They have withdrawn from all of the buffer zones."
Russian peacekeeper chief Marat Kulakhmetov was quoted by the Ria Novosti news agency as saying: "The last column with technical equipment and weapons crossed the border at 20:30 pm Moscow time (17:30 BST)."
Under a ceasefire brokered by France, Russia had until October 10th to pull back troops from buffer zones outside South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Moscow was engaged in a ten-day conflict with Georgia over the breakaway region in August.
Russia sent tanks and troops into the region on August 8th after Georgian forces shelled the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali. Despite international condemnation Moscow continued their assault for days and launched numerous air strikes.