Russian troops withdraw from Georgia

TBILISI, Georgia, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Russia says it has completed its withdrawal of its peacekeepers from a buffer zone near South Ossetia on Wednesday, an official said.

The Russian military completed its withdrawal two days ahead of the agreed deadline, RIA Novosti reported.

"The last convoy of arms and military equipment crossed the border at 8:30 p.m. Moscow time the convoy was escorted by OSCE representatives," said Gen. Marat Kulakhmetov, commander of the Russian peacekeepers in the region.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and French President Nicolas Sarkozy reached an agreement last month that Russia would withdraw from undisputed parts of Georgia not more than 10 days after the European Union deployed at least 200 observers in the buffer zones near South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The European Union observers were deployed Oct. 1, the Russian news service reported.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the BBC that officials think the EU monitors would ensure security in the buffer zones.

"This is a European Union matter," Lavrov told the British broadcaster. "We trust them."

However, Lavrov said the monitors wouldn't be allowed in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, where Russia would maintain a force of 8,000 troops, the BBC said.

In Georgia, the commander of Russian troops said the withdrawal from all six checkpoints would be completed quickly.