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August 16, 2008

Russian FM: No Timetable for Pullout From Georgia
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1DB9EE4:A6F02AD83191E16049C0B12E0BEA9C5DF47489ACC27D21EE&
 
Sergei Lavrov says pullout contingent on security situation in region 
Sergei Lavrov (file photo) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says
Russian troops have no
timetable for withdrawing from Georgia under a cease-fire agreement the
two countries have signed. Lavrov told reporters in Moscow
Saturday the timing of the Russian pullout is contingent on the
security situation in the region. Witnesses say Russian troops
remain deeply entrenched in Georgian territory, away from the Abkhazian
and South Ossetian borders, and that they still surround the key city
of Gori. But they say Russian forces have withdrawn from the town of
Igoeti, which is just 50 kilometers outside the capital, Tbilisi.
Georgia
has accused Russia of bombing a key railway bridge west of the capital
Tbilisi, in the Kaspi region, hours before Moscow signed the cease-fire
agreement on Saturday. Russian General Anatoly Nogovitsyn denied that
Russian troops are responsible for the destruction of the bridge. The
Russian news agency, Itar-Tass, says the government is sending
emergency crews to the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali to start
rebuilding the battle-scarred city. Witnesses earlier reported that
officials marched dozens of captives through the streets of Tskhinvali,
forcing them to clean up rubble left from the fighting. The U.S.
military said Friday it will increase the flow of aid to Georgia, where
the conflict with Russia has displaced an estimated 118,000 people.
Four U.S. military aircraft already have delivered about 74 metric tons
of supplies to Tbilisi - including more than five tons of medicine. The
United Nations refugee agency also plans to send more than 100 tons of
aid this week, enough for more than 50,000 people.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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