Russia has followed Georgia in signing a French-brokered peace plan for ending their nine-day-old conflict. But Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the withdrawal of Russian forces from deep inside Georgia depended on extra security measures being put in place in the net few days. But latest reports say Russia has agreed to pull back on Monday . US President George Bush has again demanded Russian forces to withdraw.
A simmering conflict between Georgia and Russia erupted on August 7 when Georgia launched an assault to retake its Russian-backed separatist province of South Ossetia . It led to a massive counter-offensive by Russia , with Russia moving deeper into Georgian territory. Scores of people have been killed by the fighting and tens of thousands displaced. US-backed Georgia has vowed it will not accept any loss of its territory, but Russia insists that following the recent violence, residents are unlikely to live in the same state as Georgians.
According to Georgia ’s Foreign Ministry Russian-backed separatists from the province seized 13 villages and a power plant within Georgia . The claim could not immediately be independently confirmed. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Sunday followed his Georgian counterpart, Mikhail Saakashvuili, in signing the truce. Among the six points in the agreement, both sides agree to pull back their forces to pre-conflict positions.
