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MIKHAIL KLIMENYEV/AFP/Getty Images
Russia and Georgia have reached a cease-fire agreement, but the situation remains fragile and violent. Each side says the other is breaking the truce. The cease-fire, brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, contains six main points, as explained by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev:
- Not to resort to the use of force
- Halt
all military action
- Free access to humanitarian aid
- Georgian Armed Forces should return to their bases
- Russian Armed Forces should pull back to their positions
prior to combat
- The beginning of international discussions on the future
status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and on ways to ensure their
security
"The operation was halted not because President [George] Bush had made
a request, but because the goals set by the Russian president had been
attained," insisted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Of course, what matters now is the implementation. The agreement is vague enough in points that both sides will seek to interpret it to their liking. The West will call for international peacekeepers, but Russia seems disinclined to agree.
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