Russia told to stop stalling on Georgia pull-out

WASHINGTON-The United States urged Russia on Sunday to honor a pledge to start pulling troops out of Georgia, but officials voiced frustration that Moscow had broken earlier promises and skepticism it would keep them now.Russia announced to the West on Sunday it would start pulling out its forces on Monday, after a war that dealt a humiliating blow to Washington's ally Georgia and raised fears for fuel supplies to Europe."I hope he intends to honor the pledge this time," Rice said of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on NBC's "Meet the Press."She noted that several days ago Medvedev had said military operations would stop, but they did not. Medvedev also said that as soon as a ceasefire agreement was signed by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, Russian troops would start withdrawing, but they didn't, Rice added."This time I hope he means it," she said. "The word of the Russian president needs to be upheld by his forces or people are going to begin to wonder if Russia can be trusted."Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Washington would have to keep pressing Russia to leave Georgia, adding that Moscow's pullout partly depended on how fast the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe could get monitors to the scene."My own view is that the Russians will probably stall and perhaps take more time than anybody would like. I think we just need to keep the pressure and ensure that they abide by the agreement that they've signed and do so in a timely way," Gates said in an interview with CNN.Months of tension between Georgia and its former Soviet master erupted on August 7, when Tbilisi launched an assault to regain control of the Russian-backed breakaway South Ossetia region.
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