MOSCOW (AFP) — French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday urged Russia to follow through on an order to end military operations in Georgia, as he met President Dmitry Medvedev on a high-stake peace mission.
"What you are saying is good news," Sarkozy said after Medvedev informed him that he had ordered an end to Moscow's massive military operation in the neighbouring ex-Soviet state.
"It is now necessary to consolidate the ceasefire," Sarkozy said at the meeting, at which Russian and French officials warmly greeted each other in the ornate surrounds of the Kremlin.
The French leader, who currently holds the European Union presidency, was leading Western diplomatic efforts to halt the Russian military campaign against Georgia, sparked last week when Georgian forces attacked a rebel region.
Sarkozy told Medvedev it was "normal" for Moscow to defend Russian-speaking people beyond its borders, but also that Georgia's territorial integrity had to be respected.
"It's perfectly normal that Russia would want to defend the interests both of Russians in Russia and Russophones outside Russia," Sarkozy said.
"It is also normal for the international community to want to guarantee the integrity, sovereignty and independence of Georgia," he said.
France has pushed an EU-backed peace plan, which Tbilisi has accepted, calling for an immediate truce, respect for Georgia's territorial integrity and a return to the status quo that prevailed before Georgian troops attacked South Ossetia last week.
Following their formal talks, Sarkozy and Medvedev were having lunch together in Moscow, joined by influential Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
The French leader was scheduled later to fly to Tbilisi to meet Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.
The Russian side has accused Saakashvili of pursuing a "criminal" policy of genocide in the Moscow-backed rebel region of South Ossetia and insists it is defending the many Russian citizens there.
Georgia in turn has accused Russia of occupying large swathes of the country and of trying to topple its democratically elected leadership.
Sarkozy has been preceded on his travels by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who made a dramatic visit to the bombed city of Gori on Monday alongside Saakashvili.
The conflict in the strategic Caucasus region has prompted alarm around the world.
On Monday US President George W. Bush issued his strongest condemnation yet of the violence in Georgia, saying a "dramatic and brutal escalation" of the bloody fighting could cripple Moscow's ties to the West.
Amid concerns about whether Russia intended to fully end operations in Georgia, a Russian military spokesman, Anatoly Nogovitsyn, said Russia was monitoring the situation and would punish "provocative actions" by the Georgian side.
And Medvedev said Russia was still seeking guarantees from Georgia, including a legally binding promise to refrain from the use of force.
There were mixed signals about Russia's avowed end to hostilities, with Georgia saying Russia was still bombing Georgian territory.
French officials said Sarkozy on Monday held two long telephone calls with Medvedev. He also conferred with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the crisis before heading to Moscow.
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