Russian armor rolls from Georgian city
RUISI, Georgia — A small column of Russian tanks and armored vehicles left the strategic Georgian city of Gori on today, the first sign of a Russian pullback of troops from Georgia after a cease-fire intended to end fighting that reignited Cold War tensions.
Meanwhile, Russia and Georgia exchanged prisoners captured during their brief war, while NATO foreign ministers prepared to hold an emergency meeting in Brussels over a unified response to Russia’s invasion of its tiny neighbor.
The column of Russian tanks passed the village of Ruisi, outside Gori on the road to South Ossetia, a separatist Georgian province with close ties to Russia where the fighting first broke out.
Col. Igor Konoshenkov, a Russian military officer, told The Associated Press at the scene that the unit was headed for South Ossetia and, ultimately, back to Russia. He gave no timetable for when the unit would reach Russia.
Konoshenkov said it was part of the Russian pullback mandated by a cease-fire that requires both sides to return to positions held before the fighting began.
Russian troops last week drove Georgian forces out of South Ossetia, where Georgia on Aug. 7 launched a heavy artillery barrage. Fighting also has flared in a second Russian-backed separatist region, Abkhazia.
The Russian presence threatens pro-Western Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili’s efforts to keep the country from falling apart after the war bolstered the chances that South Ossetia and Abkhazia will remain free of Georgian rule.
The short war has driven tensions between Russia and the West to some of their highest levels since the breakup of the Soviet Union, but Russian President Dmitry Medvedev icily defended Russia’s actions.
“Anyone who tries anything like that will face a crushing response,” he said Monday. Later Medvedev handed out military medals to Russian soldiers involved in the fighting.
Also today, Russia and Georgia exchanged 20 prisoners of war in an effort to reduce tensions. Two Russian military helicopters landed in the village of Igoeti, the closest that Russian forces have advanced to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. Soldiers and men in unmarked clothing got off and two people in stretchers were taken to Georgian officials.
Georgian ambulances later brought two other people to the Russian choppers. One was on a gurney.
Georgian Security Council head Alexander Lomaia told reporters in Igoeti that 15 Georgians and five Russians were exchanged. “It went smoothly,” he said. The operation also witnessed by Russian Maj. Gen. Vyacheslav Borisov, who commands troops in the area.
