Russian forces continue to man positions along the strategic road from Tbilisi to Gori [EPA]

General Anatoly Nogovitsyn's announcement followed a statement on Sunday by Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's president, that Russia would begin the pullout from noon local time on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Russian forces around the strategically key Georgian city of Gori had shown no sign of moving away.

But Nogovitsyn told a news conference in Moscow that "according to the peace plan, the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers and reinforcements has begun".

He said that Russian forces were leaving Gori and pulling back to South Ossetia and security zone defined by a 1999 agreement.

With the ceasefire holding, Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, had assured Nicolas Sarkozy, his French counterpart, on Sunday that Russian regular forces "from tomorrow ... will begin withdrawing".

However, despite reports that the withdrawal had begun, new tensions appeared to be gathering over Russia's longer-term military plans in the small but strategically located former Soviet republic.

Russia plans to deploy a peacekeeping force of unspecified size that Georgian officials worry could turn into an open-ended occupation.

Mikheil Saakashvili, the Georgian president, said "there is no such notion anymore in Georgia as Russian peacekeepers".

"There can be no Russian peacekeepers, these are just Russian forces."

Germany has now welcomed Georgian moves to join Nato [AFP]

Russian troops are also controlling the city and air base of Senaki, which sits on a key intersection controlling access to the Black Sea port city of Poti and the road north to Abkhazia.

And Russia confirmed that it had taken over a major power plant in western Georgia on Sunday.

German support

Saakashvili spoke at a news conference in Tbilisi with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, at which Merkel gave support to Georgia's bid to join Nato, an ambition that is strongly opposed by Russia.

"Georgia will become a member of Nato if it wants to - and it does want to," Merkel said.

France and Germany had previously vetoed Georgia's possible membership.

Moscow felt Nato was trying to expand its sphere of influence into post Soviet space, our correspondent said.

Peace plan

The Georgian president had said earlier in the day that his country would not give up the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Russian tanks and armoured personnel carriers rolled into the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia on August 7 after the government in Tbilisi ordered a bombardment in an attempt to reassert its control.

A French-drafted six-point peace pact requires all forces in Georgia to withdraw to positions held prior to the conflict.

Under the deal, Russian troops, which entered the conflict to support the South Ossetian separatists, have the right to patrol "a few kilometres" deeper inside Georgia beyond the South Ossetia conflict zone, Georgian and French officials said on Saturday.

The French-drafted agreement calls for an end to all military action and free access to humanitarian aid. It also calls for a demilitarised border zone.

Recommend this article...

Did you enjoy this article? Please bookmark it onto: