Russian Troops Leave Western Georgia

(AP)  Hundreds of Russian forces packed up and withdrew from positions Saturday in western Georgia, and a Georgian official said Russia met a deadline for a partial pullout a month after the war between the two former Soviet republics.

Russian soldiers and armored vehicles rolled out of six checkpoints and temporary bases in the Black Sea port of Poti and other areas nearby, Georgian Security Council chief Alexander Lomaia said.

"They have fulfilled the commitment" to withdraw from the area by Sept. 15 under an agreement European Union leaders reached with Russia last week, Lomaia told The Associated Press. But he stressed that Georgia - like the West - demands a full withdrawal to pre-conflict positions.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko confirmed the withdrawal.

"Right now the withdrawal of our peacekeeping forces is happening from these posts," Nesterenko said in televised comments.

However, Lomaia said some 1,200 Russian servicemen still remain at 19 checkpoints and other positions, 12 outside South Ossetia and seven outside Abkhazia.

Russia said it would pull them out by Oct. 11 as long as a 200-strong delegation of European Union observers was in place by Oct. 1. However, OSCE documents seen by The Associated Press have raised questions over Russia's true willingness to accept the monitors.

The presence of Russian troops dug in deep in undisputed Georgian territory more than a month after the fighting ended has deeply angered Georgians and been an enormous sore point between Russia and the West.

Russia's military campaign in Georgia and its subsequent recognition of Georgia's separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent nations has plunged its relations with the United States and Europe into their worst crisis since the Cold War.

An Associated Press television crew saw Russian soldiers pack military trucks before dawn Saturday with blankets and other supplies at a post by a road leading to Abkhazia province. Among the items taken down - the Russian tricolor flag.

Four trucks stood packed and ready to leave the post in the village of Pirveli Maisi, along with an armored personnel carrier. A Russian column about the same size rolled past on a road leading to Abkhazia.

Russian forces left the two posts they had maintained for weeks on the outskirts of Poti, one by a bridge on a main road leading into the city and one a few miles from Georgia's main port and devastated naval base, Interior Ministry official Shota Utiashvili said.

"Russian forces have withdrawn completely from Poti," he said.

A third Russian post established more recently by the port of Poti had also been vacated, Lomaia said. He said some 250 soldiers and 20 armored vehicles pulled out of their positions and headed toward Abkhazia.

Near the de facto border with Abkhazia, an Associated Press photographer saw several small columns of Russian armor crossing a bridge leading toward the breakaway region and military trucks heading across another bridge at a separate location.

The brazen presence in Poti had been particularly galling for Georgia because it is hundreds of miles from South Ossetia, where the war broke out and where most of the fighting occurred.

Under an additional agreement forged last week, the Kremlin promised to withdraw from Poti and other posts in western Georgia by Monday and from all its positions on Georgian territory outside Abkhazia and South Ossetia within 10 days of the deployment of EU observers.

But in Vienna, confidential OSCE documents revealed that Russian forces and their separatist militia allies were deliberately keeping international monitors out of South Ossetia, where large numbers of Georgian homes have been looted and burned down.

The documents obtained Friday by The Associated Press say Russian troops stopped some observers from entering South Ossetia as recently as two days ago.

Western governments also say Moscow's plans to maintain 7,600 troops in Abkhazia and South Ossetia for the long term violates a provision in the cease-fire calling for both sides to return to positions held before the conflict erupted.

Georgian troops tried to retake South Ossetia by force on Aug. 7, but were quickly repelled by Russian tanks, troops and warplanes. The Russian military then drove deep into Georgia, occupying large swaths of territory before an initial withdrawal in late August.

The five-day war killed hundreds of people and drove over 150,000 people from their homes.
By Associated Press Writer Steve Gutterman
By Associated Press Writer Steve Gutterman

[jgunther7]

The Russians have an interesting expression they use to describe Palin, "A Bag of Hair". Such a simple minded and il-informed person could be a danger to the world.

[gwjackie]

They are afraid of Palin HA HA she will send the Alaska guard to whoop up on them she is commander and chief you know of the guard in Alaska what a JOKE.

[tscc2]

The Bush doctrine is much scarier than the Russians. Even conservatives like Pat Buchanan and Ben Stein are say "stay out of Russia''s back yard".

[jgg000]

If you''''re a U.S. Citizen, and you thing Russia''''s bad, you''''d better take a good long look in the mirror, because you''''re condeming yourself too.

Posted by omded

how so?

[samsel3]

The truth is, this is all about control of oil & gas pipelines. The BTC oil pipeline in South Ossetia & the Nabucco natural gas pipeline in NW Georgia supply markets in the European Union. In November 2003 the World Bank funded the BTC pipeline to circumvent Russian pipelines supplying europe.

Shareholders in the BTC pipeline are: British Petroleum, AzBTC, Chevron, Statoil, TPAO, ENI, Total, Itochu, INPEX, ConocoPhillips & Amerada Hess.

Russia is the second largest supplier of oil & gas on the planet.
After loosing Iraqi oil to Operation Iraqi Freedom, they negotiated supplies with Iran. The Russians were not happy with Cheneys BTC pipeline or the TAPI Caspian Sea Pipelines project going through Afghanistan. This threatens their economy based on oil & gas.

Again it s the Bush administrations lust for money in World markets for their BIG OIL buddies

[omded]

The U.S. and Russia are, in many ways, identical twins. Just like the Democratic and Republican Parties. They all have a lot more in common than they have differences. Under similar conditons, the U.S. would have done the exact same thing Russia did, and, you know what? Just like Russia, it just might be the right thing.

If you''re a U.S. Citizen, and you thing Russia''s bad, you''d better take a good long look in the mirror, because you''re condeming yourself too.

[missingamerica]

Re: THIS JUST HIT THE NEWS, AND IT''S BIG
Posted by hbevis at 12:26 AM : Sep 14, 2008

Hmmm...reviewing the transcript leads me to believe that ABC did Palin a favor, and edited out the parts where she rather transparently and frequently tried to change the subject to hide her deficiencies.

Further, it would appear that the editing removed more than a few rambling answers which could be condensed down to Palin believes that she is a worldly diplomat because a) "it is a small world" and b) she could see Russia from a small island in Alaska, assuming she ever went there

Palin owes ABC a "Thank You", but ABC could have done more.

For instance, both the RNC and ABC should have edited out Palin''s remarks about her son''s deployment date, both to avoid violating OPSEC and to avoid turning her son and his unit into Al Qaeda''s - and even some Shia and Sunni faction''s - #1 snatch-or-kill targets.

[hbevis]

THIS JUST HIT THE NEWS, AND IT''''S BIG:

Apparently, the Charlie Gibson interview with Sarah Palin was selectively edited, in a style similar to Michael Moore''''s style. Parts of Palin''''s answers were removed or edited to present them completely out-of-context. The FULL ABC INTERVIEW, as well as the TRANSCRIPT, is now available online:


http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/09/13/abc-news-edited-out-key-parts-sarah-palin-interview

you may have to cut and paste the link piece by piece - that''''s just the way it works here)

Anyway, key parts of the interview were removed to keep Palin from looking knowledgeable. This is amazing, and it''''s probably going to kill ABC News'''' credibility.

Posted by mike071067 at 11:07 PM : Sep 13, 2008

THIS IS THE KIND OF GARBAGE THAT WE CAN EXPECT FROM THE MEDIA. I MEAN ALL OF THE MEDIA. THEY ARE LEANING TOWARDS THE DARK SKIN''ED MAN SO HARD THAT THEY LEAVE A DENT IN HIM.

IT''S JUST PAR FOR THE COURSE. AND I DID NOT KNOW THAT ABC HAD ANY CREDIBILITY TO BEGIN WITH. charlie gibson IS ONE OF THE LOWEST SCUM IN THE BUSINESS.

[boycot-china]

Dear Miss Ontheleft. As always, you continue to impress the world with your stupidity and ignorance. Why don''t you get off your knees and come out from under the table and see the light. Try and take a little time and effort and do a basic google search and see why oil prices have been going up a long time before Pres. Bush took office. I can tell you are all mouth and no understanding of economics and the OPEC. Get a life and maybe go paint a pig''s lips with some of your crayons that you have left from your first grade education.

[ontheleft]

Posted by OneAmerican4 at 08:48 PM

The Russians will do just fine economically with high oil prices. That''s one of the unforeseen consequences of Bush''s policy of increasing oil prices since he took office - many of our adversaries are benefiting tremendously.

As far as Venezuela is concerned, I''d be more concerned about Russia allying with China in a confrontation with the West. That is where history is heading.