The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Gori

Russia announced to the West it would begin withdrawing forces from Georgia on Monday after a war that dealt a humiliating blow to the Black Sea state and raised fears for energy supplies to Europe.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Sunday that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had told him by telephone that forces would begin leaving around midday on Monday.

Sarkozy, representing the European Union, said failure to pull out under a ceasefire deal would have "serious consequences" for ties with the EU.

Sunday saw no evidence of fighting, but Russian troops continued to man a checkpoint into Gori, albeit with a reduced presence-two armored personnel carriers.

Major-General Vyacheslav Borisov, frontline commander around Gori, which lies 30 km (20 miles) beyond South Ossetia, told Reuters troops were already on the move. "You must understand there are a large amount of troops," he said.

Borisov said his soldiers were maintaining positions around Gori, a city controlling the approach to South Ossetia and the main east-west highway, to protect Russia's military pullout.

Months of tension between Georgia and its former Soviet master erupted on August 7, when Tbilisi launched an assault to seize back control of the Russian-backed breakaway South Ossetia region. Russia said 1,600 civilians, many of them Russian citizens, were killed in the Georgian bombardment.

Russian troops fanned out beyond the boundaries of South Ossetia into the Georgian heartland, taking control of major centers including the strategically placed city of Gori in fierce fighting that lasted over five days. Both sides raised accusations of atrocities.