Russia says Georgia failing to withdraw troops from S.Ossetia

Russia says Georgia failing to withdraw troops from S.Ossetia (NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW August 19, 2008: Georgian troops are not implementing President Mikheil Saakashvili's orders on their withdrawal from the South Ossetian conflict zone, a senior Russian military official said Tuesday. Russia began pulling back troops from Georgia on Monday in accordance with a six-point plan to resolve the South Ossetia conflict drawn up by the Russian and French presidents in Moscow on August 12. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the plan in Moscow on Saturday, a day after his Georgian counterpart signed it in Tbilisi. "Although Saakashvili signed the six principles [peace plan], we can see that this order is not being implemented," said Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of the Russian General Staff. Earlier Tuesday, Moscow handed over 13 Georgian military personnel and two civilians, captured during the recent conflict over South Ossetia, in exchange for five Russians, among them two pilots. But the Russian General Staff denied Georgian allegations that it was holding captive 80 Georgian servicemen. "I wonder if the list of 80 captives had been prepared beforehand... to get on our nerves," Nogovitsyn said. The military official said Russia would install additional peacekeeping posts in South Ossetia. "Arrangements are currently underway to prepare material bases for peacekeeping outposts as an extra security measure under Moscow agreements," Nogovitsyn said. "We expect to complete the construction by August 22." He also said Russian forces would remain in Georgia's Black Sea port of Poti to help with the formation of a new local administration, and vowed to make "rational use" of some of the arms and military equipment abandoned by Georgian troops in South Ossetia. "We will keep the serviceable weapons and equipment and destroy the rest to prevent them from falling into the hands of those who started this bloody war," said Nogovitsyn. South Ossetia was attacked by Georgian forces on August 8. The majority of residents of South Ossetia hold Russian citizenship, and Moscow launched a massive operation to expel Georgian troops from the region and to reinforce its peacekeepers. Russia says at least 1,600 civilians were killed in the Georgian attack on the capital of Tskhinvali. South Ossetia says more than 2,000 people were killed.