US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has demanded that Russian forces withdraw from Georgia immediately. It comes after Georgia’s President Mikhail Saakashvili signed an EU-brokered ceasefire deal, after nearly five hours of talks. In angry comments at a news briefing in Tbilisi, President Saakashvili said his country will never accept the loss of any of its territory. The crisis began when Georgia sent troops to the breakaway region of South Ossetia, sparking Russian intervention.
Scores of people have died since the fighting began and tens of thousands have been displaced. President Saakashvili said he had signed the six-point ceasefire agreement brokered by France who says it is not a permanent solution. It includes a pledge to pull all troops back to their pre-conflict positions, and a plan to begin international talks about the future status of South Ossetia and a second breakaway region, Abkhazia. Mr. Saakashvili denounced the Russian invasion, referring to its forces as cold-blooded killers and barbarians.
