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."