Saakashvili, centre, said Russian forces were 'continuing movements' [AFP]

Georgian and Russian officials have traded accusations that troops from each side have been acting against the spirit of a peace plan agreed the previous day,

Earlier the secretary of Georgia's security council told local television that 50 Russian tanks and armoured personnel carriers were in Gori, about 30km from the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

'Occupying forces'

"Russian occupying forces were continuing movements across Georgia despite the ceasefire," Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia's president, said early on Wednesday as he stood alongside the leaders of other former Soviet states.

But General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, Russia's deputy chief of staff of the armed forces, said it was Georgian forces that were violating the ceasefire.

"Georgian forces have begun their pullback towards Tbilisi but no active withdrawal has yet been observed," he said.

"We are still obliged to fulfil our mission by taking out firing positions, snipers and so on."

Russian demand

Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, said that a commitment in the peace plan drafted by the French under which Georgian forces would withdraw to "permanent positions" meant they should return to barracks.

Russia's foreign ministers says troops will stay until Georgia withdraws [AFP]

"Upon the withdrawal of Georgian troops to their barracks, Russian troops will return to the territory of the Russian Federation," Lavrov said.

"Our peacekeepers will remain in South Ossetia," he said, referring to peacekeeping units separate from the regular army that have been deployed in the Georgian province for 15 years.

Saakashvili said on Wednesday that Russia was responsible for "Balkan-type and World War II-type ethnic cleansing and purification campaigns" during the conflict.

"We are getting reports of large-scale violation of human rights of the worst of the case," he said.

"The town of Tskhinvali was turned into Grozny Two by Russian carpet bombardment and I really want people to go in and check and verify what kind of bombs are these.

"I have been hearing accusation that this was Georgian bombing and this is not true."

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