Gori: The United States ratcheted up pressure on Russia to pull out of its conflict with Georgia, as Tbilisi reported more Russian troop movements and accused Russian forces of sabotaging military targets prior to an agreed withdrawal. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, while emphatically ruling out the use of US military force, warned that ties between the United States and Russia could be adversely affected for years unless Moscow adjusted its aggressive posture and actions . Highlighting the profound implications for the entire US Russia security relationship, Gates also said Russia would have to pay some consequences for its attacks on Georgia.
Yesterday, Georgian officials reported more Russian troop movements in the west of the country. Yesterday evening, about 130 Russian armoured vehicles penetrated deeper into Georgian territory, heading southeast from Zugdidi before stopping near the town of Senaki, an interior ministry official said. Earlier, an interior ministry spokesman said Russian forces were destroying the town of Gori, just south of the disputed territory of South Ossetia, and demolishing military infrastructure in the Black Sea port of Poti. An US official in Washington said Russian troops were disabling military installations as they moved through the country. A week after Georgia s offensive against the Russian backed separatist region of South Ossetia unleashed the conflict, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was en route to Tbilisi today. She hopes to consolidate the fragile truce brokered Tuesday by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
