Moscow's troops continue to operate deep inside the Caucasus republic US officials say Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has pledged that Moscow will "faithfully" implement a ceasefire agreement signed by Georgia. They say he gave the assurance after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice phoned him from her plane following a visit to Georgia's capital, Tbilisi. Ms Rice has demanded Russia withdraw at once but the Russian military is still operating deep in Georgia, reports say. The US president has meanwhile kept up the pressure in a radio address. In his latest comments on the crisis, President George W Bush said Russia's actions in Georgia were completely unacceptable to the free nations of the world. Checkpoint On the ground in Georgia, a convoy of about 17 armoured Russian personnel carriers and 200 troops advanced to a village 45km (30 miles) from Tbilisi on Friday, the Reuters news agency said. See map of the region The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse says there are unconfirmed reports the Russians have set up a checkpoint not far from Tbilisi. Georgian officials also said Russian forces remained in the Georgian Black Sea port of Poti, the site of a major oil shipment facility. There is also a major Russian military contingent further inland, at Senaki, and Russian forces still control Gori, which lies some 15km (10 miles) from the border with South Ossetia. The Russian army brought in a large number of irregulars, mercenaries... They go around drunk, aggressive, armed and do all these atrocities
Mikhail Saakashvili
Georgian President
Russia in control and on move Georgians rally behind leader The crisis began on 7 August, when Georgian forces launched a surprise attack to regain control of the breakaway region of South Ossetia, which has had de facto independence since the end of a civil war in 1992. The move followed days of exchanges of heavy fire with the Russian-backed separatist militias. In response to the Georgian assault, Moscow sent armoured units across the border into South Ossetia to intervene. Scores of people have been killed by the fighting and tens of thousands displaced. On Friday, Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili said he had signed an EU-brokered ceasefire agreement to end the conflict over South Ossetia. PEACE PLAN No more use of force Stop all military actions for good Free access to humanitarian aid Georgian troops return to their places of permanent deployment Russian troops to return to pre-conflict positions International talks about future status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia
In pictures: Georgia tension Day-by-day: Georgia-Russia crisis The deal includes a pledge to pull all troops back to their pre-conflict positions, and a plan to begin international talks about the future status of South Ossetia and another breakaway region, Abkhazia. But Mr Saakashvili said his country would never accept any loss of its territory. He also accused the Russians of committing war crimes during the crisis. "The Russian army brought in a large number of irregulars, mercenaries," he said. "They go around drunk, aggressive, armed and do all these atrocities." The president criticised the West too for not granting Georgia membership of Nato, saying it could have prevented the fighting. On her way back to the US to brief President Bush on her meeting with Mr Saakashvili, Ms Rice telephoned Russia's foreign minister to urge his country to sign to the ceasefire accord. The UN puts the number of those displaced in the conflict at 118,000 "[Mr Lavrov] said that Russia would implement the agreement faithfully," a state department official told journalists, adding that the Russian government first wanted to see Mr Saakashvili's signature on the document. The official said Russia was likely to sign the accord on Saturday. Earlier, the office of French President Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed the Russian leader, Dmitry Medvedev, had promised to sign the ceasefire deal and abide by its provision that Russian forces should withdraw from Georgian territory. President Medvedev said that after what had happened, it was unlikely that the people of South Ossetia and Abkhazia could live in the same state as Georgians. Diplomats have meanwhile said that the UN Security Council is expected to vote this weekend on a draft resolution formalising the ceasefire agreement. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will meet the Russian permanent representative in New York, possibly on Saturday, because he has so far been unable to contact the Russian president, officials have said. 'Watching with alarm' Later on Saturday, President Bush will hold a video conference with some of his most senior staff, including Ms Rice and Defence Secretary Robert Gates, to discuss the crisis in Georgia. President Bush said Russia had to act to end the crisis in Georgia
Russia angry at US missile deal Speaking from his ranch in Texas in his weekly radio address, Mr Bush said Russia's actions in Georgia were "completely unacceptable to the free nations of the world". "The world has watched with alarm as Russia invaded a sovereign neighbouring state and threatened a democratic government elected by its people," he said. "To begin to repair the damage to its relations with the United States, Europe and other nations, and to begin restoring its place in the world, Russia must act to end this crisis," he added. Mr Bush said he would send his secretary of state to Brussels next week to discuss how to deal with Russia with Nato foreign ministers and EU officials. But the president did not respond to comments from Russia's deputy chief of staff, who said Moscow would be justified in launching a nuclear attack if Poland went through with its agreement to base US interceptor missiles on its territory as part of Washington's controversial defence shield.
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O Presidente da Geórgia,  assinou ontem, um acordo de cessar-fogo, na presença da Secretária de Estado, .

Mikheil Saakashvili em 10 de maio de 2005.
Um documento idêntico, exigindo a retirada imediata de todas as forças russas do solo da Geórgia, foi assinado em 16 de agosto em  com o presidente russo, . Saakashvili afirmou que irá Geórgia "nunca, jamais resgate" para a Rússia. O documento de cessar-fogo foi originalmente elaborado por , o presidente da .

Saakashvili afirmou que a  tinha sido "convidado agressão russa" ao rejeitar a tentativa da Geórgia voltar a entrar na OTAN em abril deste ano. Entretanto, em um relatório prontamente negado pelo funcionário russo, a  afirmou que tinha provas de que a Rússia atacou zonas povoadas da Geórgia com internacionalmente as proibidas .

Rice chegou na Geórgia ontem e de acordo com Saakashvili, a par reuniu durante cerca de cinco horas.  Na sequência do encontro, foi realizada uma conferência de imprensa em que Saakashvili afirmou que ele tinha de fato, assinaram o acordo. Mas ele salientou que "este não é um acordo já estabelecido. Temos de envidar todos os esforços para dissuadir tal comportamento no futuro."

Rice já exigiu que as forças russas da Geórgia retirarem imediatamente. O acordo também fornece proteção para a Geórgia e um "plano de reconstrução", bem como permitir que certas concessões para a Rússia. 

Rússia havia avançado fora da província da  em 7 de agosto de ajuda aos rebeldes da Ossétia do Sul o que tinha sido combatido as tropas georgiano. No dia 11 de agosto tropas russas avançaram dentro do território georgiano para a base na . Medvedev disse que ele havia ordenado as tropas russas para começar a sair da Geórgia em 11 de agosto.

O acordo de cessar-fogo assinado ontem pelo presidente georgiano foi transmitido por fax na madrugada de hoje, à Rússia por meio da diplomacia americana.

O documento é idêntico ao assinado pelos presidentes da Abkházia e Ossétia do Sul, dois territórios separatistas georgianos, segundo uma fonte do ministério russo das Relações Exteriores. A expectativa é que o acordo seja assinado agora pela Rússia. 




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