Russian troops complete withdrawal from Georgian buffer zones

The International Herald Tribune reports that Russia removed its last checkpoints from the buffer zones outside the breakaway enclaves of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on Wednesday, two days ahead of their 10 October deadline.

However, the paper says that although there was no violence on either the Georgian or the Russian side, watching Georgian soldiers at the town of Ergneti it was clear that “tensions were undiminished”.

Under a French-brokered ceasefire agreement, Russian troops were due to pull out of the buffer zones by this Friday, 10 days after EU observers arrived in the area.

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