TBILISI, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - Russian forces withdrew completely Wednesday from a buffer zone around Georgia's rebel region of Abkhazia, and were doing the same around South Ossetia, Georgian and Russian officials said.

The posts in Abkhazia were dismantled and 'all Russian soldiers have left' the buffer zone, Georgian interior ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili told AFP.

TBILISI, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - Russian forces withdrew completely Wednesday from a buffer zone around Georgia's rebel region of Abkhazia, and were doing the same around South Ossetia, Georgian and Russian officials said.

The posts in Abkhazia were dismantled and 'all Russian soldiers have left' the buffer zone, Georgian interior ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili told AFP.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday called for a fourth-month extension of the mandate of the UN mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) while the parties in the recent Russia-Georgia conflict seek agreement on a cooperation framework.

TBILISI, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - Georgian-controlled territory near the rebel region of Abkhazia was shelled overnight Monday but no one was injured and there was no damage from the attack, the interior ministry said.

TBILISI, Sept 21, 2008 (AFP) - One Georgian policeman was killed and two wounded on Sunday by sniper fire from Abkhaz separatist positions, Georgia's interior ministry said, while the Abkhaz side denied the claim.

TBILISI, Sept 21, 2008 (AFP) - One Georgian policeman was killed and two wounded on Sunday by sniper fire from Abkhaz separatist positions, Georgia's interior ministry said, while the Abkhaz side denied the claim.

The incident was the second killing of a Georgian policeman on the de facto Abkhaz border in just over a week, according to the Georgian side.

SOCHI, Russia, Sept 20, 2008 (AFP) - The question of Russian forces in the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is a bilateral matter, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Saturday.

WASHINGTON, Sept 17, 2008 (AFP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was to deliver Thursday what officials describe as a 'significant' speech on US relations with Russia, as US officials considered further steps against Moscow for its actions in Georgia.

WASHINGTON, Sept 18, 2008 (AFP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to deliver Thursday what officials describe as a 'significant' speech on US relations with Russia, as Washington considers further steps against Moscow for its actions in Georgia.

WASHINGTON, Sept 18, 2008 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned of a Russia that is 'increasingly authoritarian at home and aggressive abroad,' according to excerpts from a speech due later Thursday.

WASHINGTON, Sept 18, 2008 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned that Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization is 'now in question,' according to excerpts from a speech due later Thursday.

WASHINGTON, Sept 18, 2008 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cast doubt Thursday on whether Russia, 'increasingly authoritarian at home and aggressive abroad,' will continue to be brought into the global economic fold.

WASHINGTON, Sept 18, 2008 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cast doubt Thursday on whether Russia, 'increasingly authoritarian at home and aggressive abroad,' will continue to be brought into the global economic fold.

WASHINGTON, Sept 18, 2008 (AFP) - Russia has jeopardized its moves into the world economic and political fold with its 'dark turn' back toward aggression and authoritarianism, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Thursday.

WASHINGTON, Sept 18, 2008 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned on Thursday that Russia risks reversing its gains toward global integration with its 'dark turn' toward authoritarianism at home and aggression abroad.

MOSCOW, Sept 17, 2008 (AFP) - Russia was expected Wednesday to sign agreements formalising diplomatic and military relations with two rebel regions in Georgia despite anger from Tbilisi and its Western allies.

MOSCOW, Sept 17, 2008 (AFP) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday signed agreements formalising military and economic ties with two rebel regions in Georgia despite anger from Tbilisi and its Western allies.

WASHINGTON, Sept 17, 2008 (AFP) - The United States on Wednesday called on Russia to respect Georgia's territorial integrity and urged Moscow to pull its forces back to where they were before the conflict flared up in early August.

MOSCOW, Sept 17, 2008 (AFP) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday signed broad cooperation pacts with two rebel regions of Georgia, prompting charges of 'annexation' by Tbilisi and fierce condemnation from Washington.

WASHINGTON, Sept 17, 2008 (AFP) - The United States on Wednesday mulled further steps against Russia for its actions in Georgia, on the eve of what is touted as a 'significant' speech by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

MOSCOW, August 31, 2008 (AFP) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Sunday there was no 'turning back' from his decision to recognise two Georgian separatist regions as independent states.

'I have taken this decision and there is no turning back,' Medvedev said in an interview to Russian television.

UNITED NATIONS, August 29, 2008 (AFP) - The UN Security Council Thursday held talks on the Georgia conflict -- the sixth in three weeks -- without reaching any decision, as diplomats had anticipated ahead of the meeting.

MOSCOW, August 27, 2008 (AFP) - Russian warships on Wednesday arrived in the rebel Georgian region of Abkhazia after Moscow stepped up criticism of NATO naval movements in the region, news agencies reported, citing a top commander.

TBILISI, August 26, 2008 (AFP) - President Mikheil Saakashvili on Tuesday vowed Georgia would not give up its 'struggle' to restore territorial integrity after Russia recognised the independence of two breakaway regions.

TBILISI, August 26, 2008 (AFP) - President Mikheil Saakashvili on Tuesday vowed that Georgia would wage a peaceful struggle to restore the territorial integrity of the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

'We will continue our struggle to peacefully restore our territorial integrity,' Saakashvili said in a televised address.

TSKHINVALI, August 26, 2008 (AFP) - People poured onto the streets of Abkhazia and South Ossetia on Tuesday, shooting guns and waving flags, ecstatic at Russian recognition of the two rebel Georgian regions' independence.

TBILISI, August 26, 2008 (AFP) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced Tuesday he had signed a decree under which Russia formally recognises the rebel Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.

Here are some facts about the two territories which declared independence from Georgia in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

TBILISSI, August 26, 2008 (AFP) - Abkhazia, one of two Georgian regions formally recognised as independent states by Russia on Tuesday, broke away after the Soviet Union collapsed and is today under total separatist control.

TBILISI, August 26, 2008 (AFP) - Russia's decision to recognise the rebel Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent 'has no legal force' and will lead to 'harsh political consequences' for Russia, Georgian National Security Council Secretary Alexander Lomaia told AFP Tuesday.

MOSCOW, August 26, 2008 (AFP) - The leaders of Georgia's rebel regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia on Tuesday hailed Russia's decision to recognise their independence as an 'historic' step, Interfax news agency reported.

CRAWFORD, August 25, 2008 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush on Monday strongly urged Russia not to recognize Georgia's Moscow-backed separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent.

CRAWFORD, August 25, 2008 (AFP) - The White House warned Monday that the fate of Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia were 'not a matter for any one country to decide' after Russian lawmakers voted to recognize their independence.

WASHINGTON, August 25, 2008 (AFP) - The United States said Monday it was 'unacceptable' for the Russian parliament to recognize the independence of two breakaway Georgian regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

'To us that would be unacceptable,' said State Department spokesman Robert Wood. 'Russia needs to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia.'

TBILISI, August 25, 2008 (AFP) - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Monday dismissed a vote by the Russian parliament to recognise the independence of two Georgian rebel regions, saying it lacked legitimacy.

Both houses of Russia's parliament passed a resolution calling on President Dmitry Medvedev to formally recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent from Georgia.

TBILISI, August 25, 2008 (AFP) - A senior Georgian minister on Monday described the Russian parliament's vote to recognize independence for Georgia's rebel regions as unimportant, saying it would not lead to formal recognition.

The parliament in Georgia`s separatist region of Abkhazia voted Wednesday in favour of asking ...