TBILISI, GEORGIA — The Kremlin said Sunday that Russia's military would begin withdrawing its forces from Georgia today, though it was not immediately clear how far or how fast the troops would move.
Germany's leader, meanwhile, voiced strong support for this former Soviet republic's desire to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a goal that has fed Moscow's anger toward Georgia and the West.
The Kremlin statement followed repeated U.S. and European calls for Russia to honor a cease-fire agreement it signed Saturday and pull troops out of Georgia proper. But Russia made no mention of leaving the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, where it has long stationed peacekeepers.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy both said they were told by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that Russia would begin to redeploy the troops, which were sent early this month into the neighboring country after Moscow accused Georgia of attacking civilians and Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia.
"From tomorrow, Russia will begin the withdrawal of the military contingent which was moved to reinforce Russian peacekeepers after the Georgian aggression against South Ossetia," the Kremlin said Sunday in a statement, according to Reuters news agency.
Moscow has made similar commitments in recent days but failed to follow through and sent conflicting signals. On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov refused to spell out a timetable for withdrawal, saying it would take "as long as needed" and was contingent on the Georgian security situation. But Russia's Itar-Tass news service Sunday quoted an anonymous defense official as saying some units had already begun to pull out.
Meanwhile, Moscow showed no sign of loosening its grip in areas of Georgia its military now controls. Dozens of supply trucks and tanks were streaming south out of Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, toward Gori, a town on Georgia's main east-west highway. All along the road, Russian soldiers had erected checkpoints and set up tent cities. They had also taken up residence in an abandoned Georgian military base.
Georgia's Foreign Ministry also has said that Russia has placed medium-range missiles in South Ossetia capable of reaching Tbilisi, the Georgia capital.
Appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed skepticism about the Russian promise to withdraw.
