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Russian forces pull back from Igoeti's center
(Xinhua/Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-16 20:13

MOSCOW -- Russian forces pulled back Saturday from positions in a town not far from Georgia's capital after the Russian president signed a cease-fire deal. 

Russian tanks and troops were still dug in on a hillside on the edge of Igoeti, some 30 miles from the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.


Russian soldiers sit atop armoured vehicles as they head along the road outside Gori, August 15, 2008. [Agencies]

The military movement came around the same time that officials said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had signed the deal, setting the stage for a Russian troop withdrawal after more than a week of warfare in the former Soviet republic at the heart of increasing tension between Russia and the West.

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The agreement, signed a day earlier by Georgian President Mikhail Saakshvili after lengthy talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, calls for both Russian and Georgian forces to pull back to positions they held before fighting erupted Aug. 8, and envisages free access to humanitarian aid.

Georgia began a military action against South Ossetia's forces last week in an attempt to re-establish control over the breakaway region. In response, Russian troops moved into the region to fight Georgian forces.