GORI, Georgia — Russian troops pulled out of occupied Georgian lands Friday, loosening a chokehold on strategically crucial towns, railroad routes and roadways.
Although the withdrawal was the most dramatic Russian concession to date, it was not total.
The United States quickly lashed out at Russia for failing to remove all of its troops and hardware from the land of its smaller neighbor. The French and U.S. presidents agreed that Russia is failing to carry out its obligations under a French-brokered cease-fire agreement, said White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe in Crawford, Texas.
“It’s my understanding that they have not completely withdrawn from areas considered undisputed territory, and they need to do that,” Johndroe said.
For hours, Russian troops drained out of this city and dismantled checkpoints they had erected along the road toward the Georgian capital.
They also were abandoning sites they had seized in western Georgia, according to news reports.
Finally, a crane hauled the last concrete blocks off the highway near Gori, freeing up the road to Tbilisi for the first time in days.
Georgian police piled into pickups and poured back into this garrison town, reasserting their control over a chunk of the country they had been forced to flee.
Questions linger on standoff
Two weeks ago, Russia sent thousands of troops pouring into Georgia after Georgia launched a surprise military operation to force the breakaway province of South Ossetia back under central control.
An indignant Russia has repeatedly said it was forced to intercede to save its citizens: Most residents of the rebel province carry Russian passports, and Russian peacekeepers had been stationed in the republic for years.
But Russian troops pushed deep into Georgia proper, paralyzing the country’s main east-west transit lines and occupying villages about 25 miles from the Georgian capital.
Moscow’s aggressive military response drew condemnation from the United States and Europe — and so had Russia’s seeming reluctance to follow through on pledges to relinquish control of the seized land.
Questions still cloud the standoff between Russia and Georgia. Negotiations loom over the fate of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Georgia’s two breakaway, Moscow-backed republics.
Relief amid uncertainty
More immediately, it’s not clear when Russia will withdraw from the rest of Georgia. There is also debate over how much of Georgia will be patrolled by Russian troops, who are expected to establish a buffer zone between the rebel regions and the rest of Georgia.
“Today, they told us several versions of this,” said Shota Khizanishvili, a Georgian police official.
“What will be the last version, we will see.”
In Gori, a sense of relief, and even a measure of liberation, swept the war-scarred land. Hundreds have been killed in the fighting, and about 158,000 people were forced from their homes.
On Friday, for the first time in days, the fear and anxiety that have gripped the streets of Gori receded. Word spread through the twilight: The Russians are gone.
Residents hauled chairs outside beneath their grape arbors, uncorked bottles of homemade wine and watched the Georgian police trucks winking blue and red through the night.
“For the first time, the city is light again, and we’re having fun, drinking,” said Zura Takneshvili, a 45-year- old barber.
A Georgian police car slid past, and he pointed. “Look, our guys! This is a victory for Georgia.”
Explosions rattled the city and surrounding hills throughout the afternoon. Russian troops were blowing up the remains of Georgia’s military property, both Georgian officials and Russian soldiers said.
“They’re blowing up all the equipment they can’t take with them,” said Gori Police Chief Merab Arobelidze. “They grabbed everything they could get their hands on. They took our uniforms and even our restroom equipment.”
