GORI, (Georgia), Aug 18 (Agencies): Hungry and uncertain, beleaguered residents in Gori and other occupied Georgian cities waited anxiously Monday for Russian forces to begin their promised pullout after a short but intense war.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev promised the withdrawal under terms of an EU-backed cease-fire agreement. How quickly the troops will leave is unclear, as is exactly where they will redeploy.
The agreement calls for troops to withdraw to position they held before fighting broke out Aug. 7 but also provides for unspecified extra security measures such as patrol rights for the Russians.
As of noon Monday, there were no apparent movement from Russian troops or tanks indicating a withdrawal had begun. The Russians control a wide swath of Georgia, including the country's main east-west highway, on which Gori sits.
"I think the Russians will pull out, but will damage Georgia strongly," Tbilisi resident Givi Sikharulidze told an AP television crew. "Georgia will survive, but Russia has lost its credibility in the eyes of the world."
Top American officials said Washington would rethink its relationship with Moscow after its military drive deep into its much smaller neighbor and called for a swift Russian withdrawal.
"I think there needs to be a strong, unified response to Russia to send the message that this kind of behavior, characteristic of the Soviet period, has no place in the 21st century," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday.
But neither Gates nor Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would be specific about what punitive actions the US or the international community might take.
Rice, who is flying to Europe on Monday to talk with NATO allies about what message the West should send to Russia, said Russia can't use "disproportionate force" against its neighbor and still be welcomed into the halls of international institutions. "It's not going to happen that way," she said. "Russia will pay a price."
French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned Medvedev of "serious consequences" in Moscow's relations with the European Union if Russia does not comply with the cease-fire accord.
Later, Sarkozy said in an opinion article published on Le Figaro newspaper's Web site that if Russia did not "rapidly and totally" follow the pullout specified in the cease-fire, he would "have to call an extraordinary meeting of the Council of the European Union to decide what consequences to draw."
