Tbilisi has called Moscow's removal of troops from a village bordering South Ossetia "a step in the right direction," the Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Soon after Russia removed its troops from the village of Perevi near the border of the former Georgian republic of South Ossetia, Georgia deployed its police forces to the area.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Georgia) calls this fact a step taken in the right direction. The 'dis-occupying' of each village is very important for Georgia and especially for the people living in these villages," the ministry's statement read.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry said, however, that the removal of Russian troops from the village of Perevi is "only a microscopic step in the obligations Russia must fulfill in line with the August 12, 2008, ceasefire agreement."

Georgia also called on Russia to respect the norms and principles of international law.

Russia recognized South Ossetia and another former Georgian republic, Abkhazia, as independent states two weeks after a five-day war with Georgia in August 2008, which began when Georgian forces attacked South Ossetia in an attempt to bring it back under central control.

Since then, Russia has deployed thousands of troops and border guards to the two regions, which Georgia considers part of its sovereign territory.

TBILISI, October 18 (RIA Novosti)