Russia announces troop withdrawal Monday

MOSCOW, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- The Kremlin Sunday said Russian troops would begin withdrawing from neighboring Georgia Monday -- two days after a negotiated ceasefire.

The Kremlin statement did not give specifics on the withdrawal other than to say Russian troops would start moving toward the separatist region of South Ossetia and what it termed as a "security zone," The New York Times reported Sunday.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and French President Nicolas Sarkozy discussed how to "realize in practice" the framework of the truce, The Times said.

Sarkozy reportedly warned Medvedev of "serious consequences" for Russia-European Union relations if Russia failed to comply with terms spelled out in the truce, The Times said.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice voiced concern Saturday that Russia was not meeting the terms of the ceasefire agreement brokered by Sarkozy.

"From my point of view, and I'm in contact with the French, the Russians are perhaps already not honoring their word," she said.