Russia reports pre-schedule withdrawal of peacekeepers from the buffer zone around South Ossetia

Russia has achieved pre-schedule removal of all peacekeeping observation posts from the southern border of South-Ossetian safety zone, said General-Major Marat Kulakhmetov, commander of the peacekeeping forces in the Georgian-South-Ossetian conflict zone.

"Today, we've withdrawn all our six peacekeeping observation posts from the southern border of the safety zone, including the staff, arms, machinery and material assets. Thus, we're ahead of schedule in fulfilling our obligations to withdraw the posts, which should have been completed by October 10," said the commander.

General Kulakhmetov has especially noted that "the Georgian party has no claims to the Russian party as to the condition of the territories occupied by the peacekeeping posts and radiation background there", which was fixed by the act signed by representatives of the command of the peacekeeping forces and local administration of Georgia after inspection of the post location, the ITAR-TASS reports.

Earlier, official spokesman of Georgian MIA Shota Utiashvili confirmed the information that Russia had completed the withdrawal of its troops, while Vano Merabishili, Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, has called the population of the villages in the buffer zones already abandoned by Russian military units to return to their houses.

Meanwhile, according to Vladimir Vardzelashvili, authorized representative of President of Georgia in Shida Kartli Region (adjacent to South Ossetia), one post of Russian peacekeepers remains in Suchkhere, and another one - in Akhalgori - is still there. Mr Vardzelashvili has emphasized that European observers will immediately replace Russians in all the posts. Bernard Couchner, French Minister of Foreign Affairs, will arrive to personally supervise the process.

Radio Liberty was informed in the Suchkhere District of Georgia that Russian posts in Perevi village, to northwest from South Ossetia, indeed remain in place, probably because they are close to a strategically important highway to the Rokskyi Tunnel, which connects South Ossetia and Russia.