Russia notifies EU of pullout from Georgia buffer zones

Russia notifies EU of pullout from Georgia buffer zones (NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW - October 10, 2008: Russia has officially notified the EU that it has completed the full withdrawal of its peacekeepers from buffer zones adjacent to South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. "The Russian permanent mission to the European Union in Brussels has handed a note to the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, confirming the full withdrawal of Russian peacekeeping forces from zones adjacent to South Ossetia and Abkhazia," the ministry said on its website. The Russian and French presidents, Dmitry Medvedev and Nicolas Sarkozy, agreed in September that Russia's full withdrawal from undisputed parts of Georgia should take place on October 10. EU monitoring teams were deployed in Georgia on October 1 in preparation for the handover. The withdrawal of troops following a five-day armed conflict between Russia and Georgia was completed on Wednesday, two days ahead of the deadline.