France has urged Russia to withdraw from all major towns in Georgia under a peace accord it has signed, despite conditions authorising 'additional security measures.'
According to a letter sent by President Sarkozy to Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili, the 'additional security measures’ can only be implemented in the immediate proximity of South Ossetia to the exclusion of any other part of Georgian territory.
The French-brokered agreement drafted this week authorises Russian forces to take extra security measures on a temporary basis pending the arrival of international peacekeepers - which requires a UN Security Council resolution.
Uncertainty remains over how quickly and how far Russian forces will be withdrawn and Georgia accused Russian troops of severing the country's main east-west train link by blowing up a railway bridge in broad daylight.
Russia has denied that its forces were responsible for the bridge's destruction.
Mr Sarkozy's letter said that under the accord, Russian forces would not be authorised to remain in any major towns outside South Ossetia and road and rail transport should be guaranteed.
‘More precisely, these 'measures' may only be implemented within a zone of a few kilometres from the administrative limits between South Ossetia and the rest of Georgia, in such a way that no major urban centre is included - I am thinking in particular of the town of Gori,’ the letter read.
‘Special arrangements will have to be defined to guarantee freedom of movement along the road and rail routes of Georgia,’ it said.
Bush welcomes signing of Georgia pact
US President George W Bush has welcomed the signing of a ceasefire pact between Russia and Georgia, saying it was a 'hopeful step'.
He said Russia now needed to honour the agreement and withdraw its forces.
Speaking in Texas following a meeting with his national security team, Mr Bush said the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia were part of Georgia and that there was no room for debate on that matter.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will interrupt his holiday to hold private talks with the ambassadors of the US, Russia and Georgia on how to formalise the ceasefire deal to end the fighting over South Ossetia.
President Saakashvili has agreed to the ceasefire, but Russia has said it wants to see his signature first.
However, during a stopover at Shannon Airport, a US state department official said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had told his US counterpart, Condoleezza Rice, that Russia would implement the ceasefire.
