Under the agreement, brokered by the EU on Monday, Russia has pledged to pull all troops out of the undisputed parts of Georgia within one month, leaving peacekeepers in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which Moscow has recognized as independent countries.
Saakashvili called the new deal "a step forward," but said a long-term agreement would have to be reached "respecting Georgia's territorial integrity and the principle of justice for our country and for our region."
"Georgia will never concede any part of its territory, and will continue its peaceful battle to unite the country," he said at a news briefing with French President Nicolas Sarkozy after signing the agreement in the early hours of Tuesday.
Saakashvili, clutching a copy of the agreement, also said that Georgia, in launching a ground and air attack on Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, was responding to "a large-scale Russian invasion that took place before the hostilities emerged."
"We can prove this," he said.
Russia says hundreds of civilians and a number of its peacekeepers were killed in Tskhinvali during Georgia's August 8 attack. Thousands were also forced to flee the region.
Sarkozy, who holds the European Union presidency, drew up the withdrawal plan with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow in a bid to salvage a six-point peace deal signed last month, which Russia and Georgia have accused each other of violating.
Under the new plan, the EU will deploy at least 200 observers in the 'buffer zone' near South Ossetia and Abkhazia by October 1. Within 10 days of their deployment, Russia will pull all its forces out of the country, on the condition that Georgia signs a legally binding pledge not to use force against the republics.
Sarkozy said on Monday that said the new deal should open the way for a resumption of Russia-EU talks on a new strategic partnership deal.
If the new plan is fully implemented, "there is no reason why meetings between Russia and Europe, postponed from September, cannot be resumed in October," he said.
The EU postponed partnership talks in protest against Russia's recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states and its military presence in Georgia, which followed Tbilisi's attack on South Ossetia.
Medvedev said Russia will not go back on its decision to recognize the regions.
"We made this choice ourselves. It is final and irreversible," he said.
However, he said international discussions on the provinces' status would go ahead, as stipulated in a peace deal brokered by Sarkozy last month.
"International discussions stipulated in point six of the Medvedev-Sarkozy plan signed on August 12, 2008, will begin on October 15, 2008, in Geneva," he said.
