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

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

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

Major-General Vyacheslav Borisov, frontline commander around Gori, which lies 30 km beyond South Ossetia, told Reuters troops were already on the move.

"You must understand there are a large amount of troops," he said.

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 centres including the strategically placed city of Gori in fierce fighting that lasted over five days.

Both sides raised accusations of atrocities.

Nampa-Reuters

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