Georgia sees little sign of Russian withdrawal

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Russian tanks and troops roamed freely around Gori on Monday and made forays toward the Georgian capital, keeping control of the highway that slices through Georgia's midsection despite Russia's announcement that a withdrawal had begun. The movements of Russian forces around the key city of Gori raised questions about whether Russia was fulfilling its side of the cease-fire intended to end the short but intense fighting that reignited Cold War tensions. The deputy chief of the Russian general staff, Col.-Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, told a briefing in Moscow that "today, according to the peace plan, the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers and reinforcements has begun" and said forces were leaving Gori. But Russian military vehicles roared along roads in and around Gori on Monday and Russian troops were restricting access to the city, where shops were shut and people milled around on the central square with its statue of the Soviet dictator and native son Josef Stalin.