Russia: Control over Georgian buffer zones now in EU's hands

Moscow - Russia said on Thursday it had handed over control in the buffer zones around Georgia's rebel regions to an EU observer mission as France's foreign minister was due in Georgia to verify the pull out. 'Control over security in the areas of Georgia adjoining South Ossetia and Abkhazia since October 9, that is from now on, have completely passed to the European Union's monitoring mission,' Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko told journalists at a briefing in Moscow. 'On our side we have done all that we promised and everything to which our president put his signature to. ... Russia has withdrawn all of its peacekeepers from the zones,' Nesterenko said. Under an EU-brokered ceasefire, Moscow has until Friday to withdraw its troops from positions inside Georgia held since its five-day war with Georgia two months ago. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, was due in Georgia for a two-day visit on Thursday to verify Russia's compliance with the terms of the ceasefire. While Georgia's Foreign Ministry confirmed the pull out of troops and replaced police forces in the area on Wednesday, Tbilisi voiced dissatisfaction at the extend of the withdrawal. Russia plans to keep 3,800 troops in each of Georgia's breakaway regions, which it recognized as independent in the wake of the conflict. Georgian Parliamentary Chairman Davit Bakradze said Russia would only be in line with the ceasefire deal if it withdrew forces completely from the rebel regions to pre-conflict positions. He said Georgian officials would push the issue in talks with Kouchner. EU observers and local media report that Russian forces have abandoned checkpoints around Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but have kept posts in some disputed border villages. Russian tanks rolled into Georgia in early August to rebuff Tbilisi's offensive to retake the de facto independent region of South Ossetia. Moscow said it acted to protect its citizens in the pro-Russian region, where most residents have been issued Russian passports, but its actions were universally condemned in the West.