Georgian leader seeks EU help after pullout deal with Moscow

TBILISI, Sept 9 (AFP) Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili Tuesday said further European engagement was needed to resolve his country's dispute with Russia after a pledge by Moscow to pull out troops.brHe gave his assessment of Russia's withdrawal plans, brokered by the EU, as Moscow prepared to establish formal diplomatic relations with two Georgian rebel regions where Russian forces remain firmly entrenched.brWe are simply at the very beginning of this major task and there is still a lot to be done, Saakashvili told reporters at a news conference in the early hours of Tuesday alongside French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso. We must continue to implement the European solution to reach a definitive solution respecting Georgia's territorial integrity and the principle of justice for our country and for our region, he said.brRussian President Dmitry Medvedev earlier pledged to withdraw troops from all of Georgia except the two rebel regions provided the EU deploys at least 200 observers to ensure the security of the two regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.brThere will be a complete withdrawal of Russian peacekeeping forces from zones adjacent to South Ossetia and Abkhazia 10 days after the deployment of EU observers, Medvedev said. The observers are due by October 1.brMedvedev also stressed that Russia would not reverse its decision to recognise the two rebel regions as independent -- a decision the EU has condemned.