TBILISI, Georgia (CNN) -- Though Russia says it will begin pulling back its troops from Georgia on Monday, it's unclear how long the redeployment will take, and a Russian lawmaker has compared the situation to the U.S. presence in Iraq.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says his troops will begin withdrawing from Georgia on Monday. more photos »
Russia President Dmitry Medvedev told French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday that Russia would start pulling back its forces from Georgia on Monday, Medvedev's office said.
Sarkozy, who holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, brokered a cease-fire between Russia and Georgia last week.
Russian troops will begin withdrawing to a buffer zone and into the breakaway province of South Ossetia as stipulated by the cease-fire, Medvedev's office said.
Moscow gave no indication of when the withdrawal would be completed.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, visiting Georgia, called on Russia to stick to its agreement to pull its forces out of Georgia within "the next few days."
Speaking Sunday at a joint news conference with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, she said a "very prompt withdrawal" was needed so international peacekeepers could be dispatched to Georgia.
"President Medvedev agreed, but we cannot postpone and we cannot delay with these tasks," Merkel said in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. Watch more on the crisis »
However, lawmaker Konstantin Kosachev, head of the Russian parliament's foreign affairs committee, said Moscow will withdraw only when it is "assured that Georgians will not continue to use military force" in the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Russian troops will leave "sooner or later," Kosachev said, saying the timetable depends "definitely on how Georgians will continue to behave."
"If I would ask you in response to the same question how fast the American forces can leave Iraq, for example, the answer would be as soon as we have guarantees for peace and security there," Kosachev said. "The same answer would be toward this situation."
The United States has been in Iraq since its 2003 invasion.
Medvedev signed the truce deal Saturday, a day after it was signed by Saakashvili.
The conflict began more than a week ago when Georgia launched a military incursion into South Ossetia to rout separatist rebels.
Russia -- which supports the separatists, many of whom claim Russian citizenship -- has peacekeeping responsibilities for the region and responded by sending tanks into the province for what it said was peace enforcement. From there, the violence spread further into Georgia and Abkhazia. Watch more on the cease-fire »
The Georgian troops withdrew, and Russian forces took control of several areas inside the country -- prompting an international outcry.
Six-point truce Russia and Georgia agreed to six points in their truce deal completed Saturday:
 Do not revert to force again.
 Definitively stop all hostilities.
 Give free access to humanitarian aid.
 Georgian forces withdraw from areas of occupation.
 Russian forces withdraw to positions at start of hostilities.
 Open international discussions on South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Russia maintains it is protecting its peacekeepers and citizens from Georgian forces in the breakaway republics, but Saakashvili insists Moscow is trying to assert control over the former Soviet republic.
"It is up to Russia now to decide whether it will continue to defy the world ... or accomplish its final goal of regime change in Georgia," Saakashvili said Sunday.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he was skeptical that Russia would quickly withdraw its forces.
"My own view is that the Russians will probably stall and perhaps take more time than anybody would like," Gates said in an interview broadcast Sunday. "I think we just need to keep the pressure and ensure that they abide by the agreement that they've signed, and do so in a timely way."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who just wrapped up a visit to Tbilisi, also expressed skepticism about a prompt Russian withdrawal.
"I would think that when the Russian president says that a signed cease-fire accord will mean the withdrawal of Russian forces, that Russian forces would then withdraw. They did not," she told Fox News on Sunday.
"However, yet again, the Russian president has given his word, and this time, I hope he'll honor it." Watch President Bush on "why Georgia matters" »
It is unclear how many people have been killed in the conflict, but various claims put the figure in the thousands.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said Sunday that it estimated the fighting has displaced more than 158,000 people, citing statistics from the Russian and Georgian governments.
Almost 99,000 of those displaced were in Georgia, while 30,000 were displaced in South Ossetia and 30,000 have fled to Russia, the UNHCR said.
All About South Ossetia • Republic of Georgia • Russia
Chanceler alemã Angela Merkel
 "Georgia irá tornar-se membro da OTAN se quiser e que o faz querer", afirmou a chanceler alemã , em uma aparente mudança de posição da  durante a visita de domingo (17) em Tbilisi, na Geórgia. A declaração de apoio Merkel para a Geórgia na  foi ainda uma das mais fortes. A oferta da Tbilisi a aderir à OTAN é ferozmente recebida por oposição pelo Moscou.

Durante a reunião com o presidente georgiano , Merkel afirmou que a integridade territorial da Geórgia e da sua independência tem que ser respeitada. Após a reunião, Merkel disse que espera uma rápida retirada das forças russas na Geórgia.

Em uma conversa por telefone com o presidente francês  no domingo, o presidente russo  declarou que iria iniciar as suas tropas russas da Geórgia na ontem. Medvedev explicou que seria retirada das tropas russas para uma zona tampão e em seguida, para a província separatista da . Ainda não está bem claro quanto tempo levará a retirada. Sarkozy Medvedev advertiu no domingo, das consequências graves prejuízos para o russo e as relações com a  (UE), se a Rússia não conseguiu executar integralmente o plano de paz assinado. No princípio desta semana, o ministro de Relações Exteriores da Grã-Bretanha,  declarou que a UE deve reavaliar as suas relações com a Rússia após a sua agressiva ação na Geórgia.

Um legislador russo comparou a situação na Geórgia para o  e a presença dos . , presidente do parlamento russo de segurança da comissão disse aos jornalistas quando questionado sobre o plano de retirada: "Se peço-lhe, em resposta à mesma pergunta quão rápido as forças americanas possam deixar o Iraque, por exemplo, a resposta seria o mais depressa temos garantias de paz e de segurança ali".

Ao mesmo tempo, de acordo com fontes georgiano, as tropas russas foram ocuparam 13 aldeias georgianas, empurrando a fronteira da  para Geórgia propriamente dita. O porta-voz do Ministério da Defesa da Rússia negou o relatório, afirmando que "da paz russos foram dadas ordens para não passar para essas zonas povoadas". Existem também relatos de helicópteros russos provocaram fogo no Parque Nacional georgiano ao próximo . O porta-voz do Ministério da Defesa russa, expressou sua surpresa e declarou que as tropas russas estavam prontos a prestar assistência em extinguir o incêndio se a Geórgia apresentar um pedido oficial. "É compreensível para nós que as autoridades da Geórgia estão prontos a culpar o lado russo para as catástrofes naturais em todo o território da Geórgia", afirmou.

As tropas russas de ocupação ainda se encontram as principais cidades de , ao norte de Tbilisi, e  no oeste da Geórgia. Longe de abandonar, as unidades militares russas estão entricheirando-se em novas posições mais profundas na Geórgia, de acordo com o Daily Telegraph. Eles também têm ocupado a estratégica ponte ferroviária georgiana  sobre os principais linha que liga o país aos seus vizinhos, essencialmente cortando a última rota para o transporte de mercadorias e de comércio após soldados russos também tomou controle da georgiano principal rodovia Leste-Oeste.




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