Georgian President signs ceasefire deal with Russia

FE Team | Published: August 16, 2008 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

TBILISI (Georgia) (AP): Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said Friday he signed a ceasefire agreement with Russia, which protects the former Soviet republic's interests despite concessions to Moscow.

He said he will 'never, ever surrender' in showdown with Russia, and he accused the West of inviting Russian aggression.

Saakashvili made his remarks with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice nearby and hours after President Bush accused Russia of "bullying and intimidation" against Georgia. Bush said the people there chose freedom and "we will not cast them aside."

Earlier, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday that the proposed ceasefire she wanted Georgia to sign with Russia would protect Georgia's interests despite concessions to Moscow.

Rice, on her way to Tbilisi with the ceasefire document, said the immediate goal was to get Russian combat forces out of Georgia and more difficult questions about the status of the country's separatist regions and Russia's presence there can be addressed later.

'The United States would never ask Georgia to sign onto something where its interests were not protected," she told reporters aboard her plane as she flew to the Georgian capital from France where she met French President Nicolas Sarkozy who brokered the cease-fire.

'This is not an agreement about the future of Abkhazia and the future of South Ossetia," Rice said, referring to the two flashpoint areas. "This is about getting Russian troops out."

Rice will be consulting with pro-Western Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili about details of the cease-fire, which will require Russia to withdraw its combat forces from Georgia but allows Russian peacekeepers to remain in South Ossetia and conduct limited patrols outside the region.

The draft document also does not commit Russia to respecting Georgia's "territorial integrity," but rather refers to Georgian "independence" and "sovereignty," meaning Moscow does not necessarily accept that South Ossetia and Abkhazia, are Georgian.

Officials say the eventual status of the two areas will be worked out under existing UN Security Council resolutions which recognize Georgia's international borders and Abkhazia and South Ossetia as Georgian.