U.S. demands Russia leave Georgia "now"

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By Oleg Shchedrov

SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Washington demanded on Fridaythat Russia pull its troops out of Georgia "now", but Moscowsaid it would be another 10 days before the bulk of its forceleft Georgian soil.

In a sign of growing tension between Moscow and the Westover the conflict in Georgia, a Russian news agency reportedthat Russia had temporarily frozen cooperation with the NATOalliance, though there was no immediate confirmation.

In some of Washington's toughest comments to date, theWhite House declared Russia in violation of its commitments toleave the territory of Georgia after routing Georgian forces ina war that erupted two weeks ago.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said he could notimagine a circumstance in which the United States would engagein military-to-military cooperation with Moscow until theGeorgia situation was resolved.

U.S. impatience has been growing by the day as it waits fora full-scale pullout of troops and weaponry that Russia sentinto its small Caucasus neighbour two weeks ago to counter aGeorgian attack on the Moscow-backed South Ossetia region.

A Reuters reporter saw a column of T-72 main battle tankslumbering across the border from Russia into Georgia -- thefirst sign of heavy armour being withdrawn from Georgian soil-- but elsewhere Russian forces remained in place.

The commander of Russia's ground forces said all troopssent to reinforce Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia wouldgo back to Russian within 10 days.

"These forces will be withdrawn to Russian territory,"Vladimir Boldyrev told reporters in Sochi, where RussianPresident Dmitry Medvedev has his summer residence, in aconference call.

It was not immediately clear how that timetable would fitin with a previous Russian commitment to pull back its forcesto behind a buffer zone around South Ossetia by the end ofFriday.

That buffer zone was emerging as a new source of contentionbetween Russia and Georgia.

Moscow said even after the pullout it would station 500troops in what it called a "zone of responsibility" as part ofa peacekeeping operation to protect South Ossetia.

That would leave Russian troops still inside the Georgianheartland and close to the main east-west highway on which itseconomy depends.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who is backed bythe United States and wants to take his tiny ex-Soviet stateinto the NATO alliance, said he would not stand for that.

"There will be no buffer zones. We will never live with anybuffer zones. We'll never allow anything like this," he toldReuters in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.

COLUMN OF TANKS

A Reuters reporter at the Roki tunnel, a few kilometres(miles) from the Georgian-Russian border and the main accessroute for Russian forces, said some equipment was being pulledout.

"I can see 21 T-72 tanks moving towards the Roki tunnel inthe direction of Russia," he said.

"I can also see four Grad artillery launchers, severalarmoured personnel carriers, and heavy trucks ready to moveinto the tunnel," the reporter said.

Speaking earlier at a news conference, Saakashvili said farfrom pulling back, the Russian army if anything was wideningthe areas it occupied.

"They don't show any sign that they want to give upcontrol," he said. "It looks like the word 'withdrawal' isunderstood in different ways by different people."

The crisis erupted on August 7-8 when Georgia tried toretake South Ossetia, a pro-Moscow region which broke withTbilisi in 1992. Russian forces hit back, thrusting beyond theregion deep into Georgia and overrunning the army in fiercefighting.

NATO states have pressed Russia to pull its troops swiftlyout of Georgia and the alliance this week froze contacts withRussia over the conflict.

Russia's RIA news agency quoted Dmitry Rogozin, Russia'sambassador to the alliance, as saying the defence ministry hadtemporarily frozen cooperation with NATO pending a decision bythe Kremlin on long-term ties.

That could threaten a deal under which many of the suppliesto the NATO security force in Afghanistan are flown in throughRussian airspace.

Underlining Western support for Georgia, a top U.S. generalsaid the Pentagon expects to help Tbilisi rebuild its military,which was left crippled by the Russian attack.

Valery Gergiev, Russia's best-known living conductor and anethnic Ossetian, was holding a concert in South Ossetia onThursday designed to focus the world's attention on what hesaid was the devastation Georgian forces inflicted on theregion.

But Georgia has accused Russia and their South Ossetianseparatist allies of exploiting the Georgian defeat to driveethnic Georgians out of their homes in the region, and torchingtheir villages.

(Writing Christian Lowe; Editing by Giles Elgood)