Russia Sets Conditions for Withdrawal of Remaining Troops From Georgia

Russia will withdraw its troops from the "buffer zone" it has created in Georgia when they are replaced by international peacekeepers and once the Georgian government has signed non-aggression pacts with the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Moscow's ambassador to London, Yuri Fedotov said today.

Speaking just before the arrival of the US vice-president, Dick Cheney, in Georgia, Fedotov said he "deplored" the severe criticism of Russia voiced by Gordon Brown and David Miliband in recent days. He also claimed to have repeatedly warned Britain's Foreign Office about the worsening crisis in Georgia in the months leading up to the conflict that broke out on August 7. He said he had been assured that the Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili was "under control" and would not instigate a conflict. The Foreign Office rejected his account.

The Russian ambassador was speaking to a group of journalists about the prospects for a deal at a Moscow summit on Monday, when Nicolas Sarkozy will represent the European Union in talks with the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev.

"I think the European Union is knocking at an open door," Fedotov said. "I'm not in a position to anticipate the outcome of Monday's discussion, but if the EU proposes a very clear plan on how to prevent a potential confrontation and further shelling in the territory of South Ossetia ... then its not difficult to deploy 200 or 400 people in the zones and to allow Russia to withdraw its personnel. It depends on political will."

Fedotov said there were 500 Russian soldiers, whom he called "observers", manning checkpoints in "buffer zones" around South Ossetia and the Georgian port of Poti, insisting they were only there to "prevent further confrontation".

As a further condition for withdrawal, he said the situation on the ground would have to "stabilize" and non-aggression agreements would have to be drawn up between Tbilisi and the two breakaway regions.

Tbilisi has so far rejected any agreements that confer sovereignty on the regions, which have declared independence but have been recognized only by Moscow.

Fedotov suggested an international monitoring force could be organized by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and should include Russian observers, although he added the Russian role was open to negotiation.

The OSCE has only 28 monitors in Georgia, and they have so far been stopped from traveling around the conflict zone by Russian checkpoints. The arrival of another 80 observers is dependent on an agreement among OSCE members, including Russia, over the "modalities" of their deployment.

The European Union has also said it will send hundreds of monitors.

In the months before the conflict ignited, Fedotov said he led regular Russian delegations to the Foreign Office to express Moscow's concern over rising tensions between the Georgian government and the Russian-backed regions.

"It had become a kind of routine. Every week or every two weeks, we received instructions from Moscow to raise the issue of the situation around South Ossetia and Abkhazia officially and to warn that there may be some deterioration of the situation," he said. "Warning signals were sent, but there was no meaningful reaction."

He said Foreign Office officials told him that Saakashvili was under their control. However, he conceded that this was not a direct quote but his interpretation of what he was being told.

Fedotov said: "It meant that the United States, and the UK were talking to President Saakashvili. It meant that this regime was considered a kind of ally of the west and they were sure he will behave more responsibly."

A Foreign Office official rejected Fedotov's account of the talks, saying the meetings had been upgraded with the participation of more British officials as the situation worsened in Georgia.

"As violence increased in July so did our concerns and our diplomatic activity, and I would completely refute the thesis that we were inactive or complacent," the official said.

Russian leaders have blamed Saakashvili for starting the conflict. The Georgian president claims he only sent his troops into South Ossetia in an abortive attempt to pre-empt a long-planned Russian invasion aimed at occupying Georgia and removing him from office.

Fedotov warned that any Nato attempts to rebuild Georgia's military after the conflict would be destabilizing.

"If Nato now plans to rearm Tbilisi, to restore or even enhance its military potential, of course it will be very deplorable. And it would not help ... a political solution," he said.