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Vendaval -> Russians still patrolling Georgian port at Poti (8/23/2008 3:38:22 PM)
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Russia agreed to a ceasefire and to pullback from Georgia, but is still blocking the main Black Sea port at Poti.
"Russian forces at Georgian port despite pullback"
By Niko Mchedlishvili
POTI, Georgia, Aug 23 (Reuters)
"In Moscow, Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, said Russian troops would patrol Poti, even though it lies just outside the security zone Russia says is covered by its peacekeeping mandate.
He told reporters those patrols were in line with a ceasefire deal brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
"Should we sit behind the fence? What use would we be then? They (Georgian forces) will drive around in Hummers, move munitions around in trucks, and are we supposed to just count them?" he said after a news briefing.
Georgia and its Western allies say the "security zones" staked out this week by the Russian peacekeepers will give Moscow a stranglehold over a country that lies on a transit route for energy exports from the Caspian Sea.
GERMAN PROTEST
Germany joined the United States on Saturday in demanding Russia pull back to the positions it held before the fighting.
"The government expects Russia to complete the withdrawal immediately," spokesman Thomas Steg said in a statement. "Russia has begun its withdrawal from Georgia, but not completed it."
Up to 1,000 people gathered at the checkpoint in Poti to protest against the Russians. "While we are still alive we will not allow them to stay here," said 60-year-old Roland Silagava.
Georgia's parliament voted on Saturday to prolong a "state of war" until Sept. 8."
http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSLN90058._CH_.2400
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