Russians dig in as pullback of troops from Georgia drags on
Published Wednesday August 20th, 2008
SACHKHERE, Georgia - Russian forces at positions deep inside Georgia shovelled and hammered Wednesday, digging trenches, building sentry posts and in some cases just standing around in the heat - but showing few signs of meeting their president's promise that they'll be out by Friday.
After the seizure, binding and blindfolding of nearly two dozen Georgian servicemen, ship sinkings and other mayhem, some Georgian soldiers said they fear the Russians are trying to provoke them and justify a resumption of the five-day war that pounded Georgia's infrastructure and morale.
The Russian military significantly downsized its presence in the strategic central city of Gori as western governments pressed for a complete withdrawal from Georgian territory. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said his troops would complete a pullback as far as South Ossetia - the focus of the fighting - and a surrounding security cordon by Friday.
But few signs of movement have been seen other than the departure of a small contingent that have held Gori.
The warfare in a country straining to escape Moscow's influence-and the Russian military's prolonged grip on a broad swath of Georgian territory - has sent tensions between Moscow and the West to some of their highest levels since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.
On Wednesday, Russian troops built a sentry post about 50 kilometres miles from the Georgian capital. Conditions throughout much of Georgia remained tense.
Russian soldiers also set up what appeared to be semi-permanent camps Wednesday in at least three positions in western Georgia, near the Black Sea port of Poti, with dozens of men digging in by armoured personnel carriers and trucks. A large Russian convoy rolled on a road near Senaki, also deep in western Georgia.
Further east, soldiers were building a sentry post of timber on a hill outside Igoeti, around 50 kilometres from Tbilisi and the closest point to the capital where Russian troops have maintained a significant presence.
While Igoeti is not far from South Ossetia, Georgian officials said it is outside the area where Russian peacekeepers are permitted to maintain positions under a ceasefire, in a so-called "security zone" around the border with South Ossetia. A top Russian general, meanwhile, said Russia plans to construct nearly a score of checkpoints to be manned by hundreds of soldiers within the zone.
In Gori, which the general said is outside the zone, no Russian troops or heavy weaponry could be seen Wednesday evening, including on the bridges and main access points. Earlier in the day, Russian troops were strictly limited access to Gori to residents and turning away foreign journalists.
In a back alley in Gori, where dozens of people gathered to await promised food aid, Shota Abramidze, a 73-year-old retired engineer, said most Gori residents are worried that the Russians planned to stay.
"They're not leaving. Why not? And they're brick walls when we try to talk to them," he said. "They've stolen everything. They've bombed everything. This is fascism, that's what this is."
In Tskhinvali, the capital of separatist South Ossetia, residents hoped the Russian forces would remain.
One man who gave only his first name, Roland, said he feared that if they left the Georgians would attack again.
"They will start pushing us, they will force us to join them," he said. "Never!"
Fewer Russian army checkpoints were set up along the main highway from Gori to Tbilisi on Wednesday evening, though Russian peacekeepers still stopped cars and checked documents of passengers.
And at a military training school in the mountain town of Sachkhere, a Georgian sentry said he feared Russian forces will make good on their threat to return after a confrontation a day earlier.
Russia sent its tanks and troops into Georgia after Georgia launched a heavy artillery barrage Aug. 7 on the separatist, pro-Russian province of South Ossetia. The ceasefire calls for Russian forces to pull back to the positions they held before Aug. 7.
Western leaders have stressed Georgia must retain its current borders, setting the stage for tense dispute over the regions.
"South Ossetia and Abkhazia are part of Georgia," U.S. President George W. Bush declared Wednesday in Florida. Abkhazia is the other separatist region of Georgia that is backed by Russia.
Meanwhile, Russia has informed Norway that it plans to cut all military ties with NATO, Norway's Defence Ministry said Wednesday.
The Nordic country's embassy in Moscow received a telephone call from "a well-placed official in the Russian Ministry of Defence," who said Moscow plans "to freeze all military co-operation with NATO and allied countries," State Secretary Espen Barth Eide at the Norwegian ministry said.
On Tuesday, NATO foreign ministers said they would make further ties with Russia dependent on Moscow making good on a pledge to pull its troops back to pre-conflict positions in Georgia. However, they stopped short of calling an immediate halt to all co-operation.
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