Russia says it will begin withdrawal from Georgia on Monday
Kremlin statement doesn't say how far or how fast it will move.
TBILISI, Georgia -- The Kremlin said today that Russia's military would begin withdrawing its forces from Georgia on Monday, 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 move Moscow opposes.
U.S. and European officials repeated calls for Russia to honor a cease-fire agreement it signed Saturday and pull troops out of Georgia proper but made no mention of leaving the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, where it has long stationed peacekeepers. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicholas Sarkozy that Russian would begin to redeploy its troops.
Russia sent forces into its neighbor early this month after accusing Georgia of attacking civilians and its 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 in a statement, according to the Reuters news agency.
Moscow has made similar commitments in recent days but failed to follow through. On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov refused to spell out a timetable for withdrawal, saying it will take "as long as needed" and was contingent on the Georgian security situation.
Russia's Itar-Tass news service today quoted an anonymous defense official saying some units have already begun to pull out.
Appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Secretary of State Condoleezze Rice expressed skepticism about the Russian promise.
"I just know that the Russian president said several days ago Russian military operations would stop. They didn't. The Russian president told President Sarkozy that the minute the cease-fire was signed by [Georgian] President [Mikeil] Saakashvili, Russian forces would begin to withdraw. They didn't.
"Now he has said that tomorrow, midday, Russian forces will withdraw and withdraw to their pre-Aug. 6-7 lines. This time I hope he means it."
Merkel, the second West European leader to visit Georgia after the outbreak of its war with Russia, said talks could begin soon on integrating this small country into NATO.
It was Georgia's push to join the alliance that apparently prompted Moscow to escalate pressure on Saakashvili's staunchly pro-U.S. government.
