US: Russia must withdraw - now

2008-08-21 21:21

Crawford - Russia must withdraw from Georgia "now," the White House demanded on Thursday, saying Moscow was in violation of its commitment to do so.

Russia has shown no signs of a full-scale withdrawal of forces from Georgia and has reportedly informed Nato it wants to cease military ties, US officials said.

"For all practical purposes, military-to-military cooperation had really already been suspended with the Russians," White House spokesperson Gordon Johndroe said.

"Nato cancelled some exercises. And I can't imagine a circumstance right now that we would engage in military cooperation with the Russians until the situation in Georgia is resolved," he said in Texas where President George W Bush is at his ranch.

Under a French-brokered ceasefire agreement, Moscow had been expected to pull troops out of Georgia, but Pentagon spokesperson Bryan Whitman said "there has not been much evidence of any significant Russian withdrawals".

'Digging in'

The crisis erupted on August 7-8 when Georgia, which has a border with Russia, tried to retake South Ossetia, a pro-Moscow region which broke with Tbilisi in 1992.

Russian forces struck back and crossed into the Georgian heartland, overwhelming the army in fierce fighting.

"Russia is in violation of the commitments that they have made," Johndroe said.

He said reports from on the ground suggested that if there was any withdrawal taking place, "it's very limited", and there were also reports suggesting that either there were additional Russian troops or that they may be "digging in" to stay.

"What we know is accurate is that the withdrawal is not happening very quickly, if it in fact has begun," Johndroe said. "The withdrawal needs to take place, and needs to take place now."

Moving around

State Department spokesperson Robert Wood said "a lot of Russian forces are moving around, but not moving out" of Georgia.

The United States sees Russia as an important partner on issues like Iran and North Korea, but wants Moscow to resolve the situation with Georgia.

"We're not slamming the door on Russia," Wood said.

"However Russia needs to make a choice about whether it wants to be a part of international institutions and we certainly hope that Russia will make that strategic choice."

- Reuters