EU monitors say they have observed the first withdrawal of a Russian checkpoint from Georgia, near the rebel region of South Ossetia.
An EU spokesperson said the checkpoint was in the Ali region of Georgia, northwest of the town of Gori.
Georgian interior ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili voiced optimism that the removal of the Ali checkpoint, where 20-30 Russian soldiers had been posted, was the start of a fuller pull-back.
Russia has said it will withdraw troops from two security zones inside undisputed Georgian territory by 10 October, under a ceasefire agreement brokered by France after Russia and Georgia fought a brief war in August.
Months of skirmishes between separatists and Georgian troops erupted into war in August when Georgia sent troops and tanks to retake South Ossetia, a rebel Georgian province which threw off Tbilisi's rule in the early 1990s.
Russian forces subsequently drove Georgian government troops out of South Ossetia. Moscow's troops then pushed further into Georgia, saying they needed to prevent further Georgian attacks.
The West has condemned Russia for a disproportionate response to Georgia's actions and demanded that Moscow pull back its troops from Georgian territory outside the conflict zones.
Despite international censure, Moscow has also recognised both South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.
