BARVIKHA, September 8, 2008 (AFP) - Russia is to pull back its troops in Georgia within a month, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Monday, noting however that the agreement does not cover Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

A new agreement brokered with Russia stipulates 'in one month, the complete pull-out of Russian forces from Georgian territory, outside South Ossetia and Abkhazia,' Sarkozy said.