Surprise, surprise. Russia is not withdrawing from Georgia:
Russia’s deputy chief of staff insisted Monday that Russian troops and tanks have begun to withdraw from the conflict zone with Georgia, but left unclear exactly what Russia thought that zone was. Yet in the key Georgian city of Gori, there were no signs of a Russian pullback.
The statement by Col.-Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn came amid uncertainty about whether Russia was fulfilling President Dmitry Medvedev’s promise to begin a troop pullout Monday after signing an EU-backed cease-fire.
Nogovitsyn told a briefing in Moscow that “today, according to the peace plan, the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers and reinforcements has begun” and said forces were leaving Gori.
However in Gori, Russian forces seemed to be solidifying their positions and the only movement seen by Associated Press reporters was in the opposite direction from Russia — toward the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, 55 miles to the east.
The U.S. State Department was also unable to confirm a Russian troop pullout.
Four Russian armored personnel carriers, each carrying about 15 men, rolled Monday afternoon from Gori to Igoeti, a crossroads town even closer to Tbilisi. Passing Georgian soldiers who sat by the roadside, the Russians moved into Igoeti then turned off onto a side road.
Why does Russia bother to pretend it’s withdrawing when it isn’t? All I can think is that they are trying to prolong the diplomacy, which will end once they admit they’re not leaving. But what are they concerned about the West doing that they want to delay?
UPDATE: The BBC secretly filmed Russian troops not pulling out, and damage done by Russian troops to the port of Poti (where Russia claimed not to be).
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