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Russia accuses Georgia of failing to pull back troops

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Georgia has failed to honor its commitment to withdraw troops under the Medvedev-Sarkozy peace plan, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.
MOSCOW, September 3 (RIA Novosti) - Georgia has failed to honor its commitment to withdraw troops under the Medvedev-Sarkozy peace plan, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.

"Georgian troops should have returned to their positions. Unfortunately, we have not observed that," Andrei Nesterenko said. "Instead, we have been witnessing an increase in activity to redeploy and equip Georgian troops."

In his comment on Tuesday Nesterenko said Russia had pulled out all its regular troops from Georgia while honoring all its commitments to peace in South Ossetia. He also accused Tbilisi of attempting to rebuild its defenses in the conflict zone and staging provocations against Russian military personnel there.

The Russian diplomat said that Georgia had imposed Russian press censorship, describing the move as "a gross violation of international standards" that has "nothing to do with democracy."

"The anti-Russian campaign is in full swing [in Georgia], it is encompassing society," Nesterenko said.

He added that Georgian authorities were attempting to conceal the scale of the recent conflict caused by "Tbilisi's nationalist policies."

Moscow said hundreds of civilians and peacekeepers were killed in the Georgia's attack on South Ossetia on August 8, and thousands were forced to flee the devastated region. Russia concluded its operation to "force Georgia to peace" on August 12.

Nesterenko also said that Russia's Foreign Ministry was considering its response to Georgia's decision to cut diplomatic ties with Moscow.

"We are currently considering measures," Nesterenko said.

At a news conference on Tuesday he complained that Russia had not received any official notification that Georgia was cutting diplomatic ties with Russia.

According to Nesterenko, 328 Georgians have applied for refugee status in Russia, and their number was growing.

The official said earlier this week that up to 15,000 Russians living in Georgia intended to return home.

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