Georgia operation is called to a halt by Russian president

Published on Tuesday 12 August 2008 09:48

RUSSIAN President Dmitry Medvedev today ordered a halt to military operations in Georgia after five days of fighting and just before French President Nicolas Sarkozy was to hold peace talks in Moscow.

A Kremlin spokesman confirmed reports that Medvedev had issued instructions to the Defence Ministry to "stop the operation to force the Georgian authorities to peace". The news came just before Sarkozy was due to meet Medvedev at the Kremlin to discuss an international peace plan to halt the fighting, which has rattled world oil markets and unnerved the West.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier Moscow could not agree to the plan if it included Georgian troops in a future peacekeeping force because they had attacked Russian colleagues during Tbilisi's push to recapture breakaway South Ossetia.

"We can hardly agree with this because it would assume the presence of people described as Georgian peacekeepers," he said. "They can no longer remain. They brought shame upon themselves as peacekeepers. They committed crimes."

In Georgia, Russian warplanes reportedly bombed the town of Gori today, killing at least five people. There were isolated skirmishes along the front line but no major offensives by either side overnight.

Close US ally Georgia entered a conflict with Russia last week after launching an offensive to retake the pro-Russian region of South Ossetia, which broke away from Georgian rule in 1992. Moscow responded with a huge counter-offensive.

Separatists in the Black Sea region of Abkhazia, west of the main war theatre, launched a major push early today to drive Georgian forces out of the Kodori Gorge – the only area of the province under Georgian control.

"The operation to liberate Kodori Gorge has started," Abkhazia's self-styled foreign minister Sergei Shamba said. "Our troops are making advances. We are hoping for success."

Abkhazia insisted Russian troops were not involved.

Moscow's troops appeared to have largely stayed within the two separatist areas of South Ossetia and Abkhazia overnight, calming fears they might push deep into Georgia and threaten President Mikheil Saakashvili's government.