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Russia orders halt to war with Georgia

12/8/08, Russian troops have pulled back through Abkhazia Russia and Georgia have agreed a truce brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and have approved the principles of a full peace plan. The exact details of the proposals appeared to be still under discussion.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili suggested some details agreed by Russia were unacceptable and said the document needed fleshing out. Earlier, Russia announced its military activity in the area was completed and witnesses saw troops pulling out.

But despite the diplomacy and apparent withdrawal, rhetoric on both sides remained fiery and analysts were predicting a long road to peace. Fighting flared last Thursday night when Georgia sent its army to regain control of South Ossetia - a region nominally part of Georgia, but with de facto independence and where a majority of people hold Russian passports.

SIX-POINT PEACE PLAN
No more use of force
Stop all military actions for good
Free access to humanitarian aid
Georgian troops return to their places of permanent deployment
Russian troops return to pre-conflict positions
International talks about future status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia

Russia moved in forcefully, sending troops into South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another breakaway province. Georgian towns away from the two regions were also bombed. Some 100,000 people are estimated to have been displaced by the conflict. Mr Sarkozy, in his current role as EU president, held talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow for most of the day before flying to Tbilisi. He held news conferences with both Mr Medvedev and Mr Saakashvili - with all three leaders saying they had agreed to a six-point plan.

But Mr Saakashvili suggested certain elements of the plan agreed by Russia had been "deleted". Among them were proposed discussions on the future status of Abkhazia. Despite this, Mr Sarkozy said the document would now be looked over by EU foreign ministers and members of the UN Security Council.

'Lunatics' gibe Several countries, including the US, a major ally of Georgia, have been critical of Moscow's actions. Reacting to Russia's ceasefire declaration, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said it was now vital for all sides to stop fighting, adding that Russian military operations "really do now need to stop because calm needs to be restored".

Earlier, Mr Medvedev called Georgian troops "lunatics" and accused President Mikhail Saakashvili of lying over a previous ceasefire agreement. And tens of thousands of Georgians gathered in Tbilisi's main square to hear Mr Saakashvili claim that Russia was continuing its "ruthless, heartless destruction" of Georgian citizens.

Neither side's claims could be verified, but analysts said the inflamed rhetoric suggested they were far away from long-term accord. And there are other issues likely to hamper peace negotiations.

Separatist rebels are continuing to fight Georgian troops in the Kodori Gorge region of Abkhazia - the only area of Abkhazia still under Georgian military control.

Georgia has meanwhile filed several complaints with international bodies over Russia's actions - including one at the International Court of Justice alleging ethnic cleansing.

Mr Saakashvili told crowds in Tbilisi that Russian peacekeepers in Abkhazia would now be regarded as an occupying army - ending an agreement in place since 1994.

And he also said Georgia would leave the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) - a Moscow-dominated group that includes most of the former Soviet republics

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