The Russian ambassador to Georgia and a group of Russian diplomats left the country yesterday on September 30. The plane with the European Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, landed at the airport of Tbilisi in less than an hour.
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Russia’s ambassador to Georgia, Vyacheslav Kovalenko, and 20 officers of the diplomatic mission and their family members embarked an Il-62 jetliner to return home due to the termination of diplomatic relations between Russia and Georgia. Georgia cut its diplomatic relations with Russia on Septmeber 2 and offered to keep consular links. Tbilisi left its consul and two vice consuls in Moscow.
Russian diplomats told the Vremya Novostei newspaper that there will be six consular officers and technical personnel left in Georgia’s capital.
Georgian officials were not seeing the Russian ambassador off on the day of his departure from Tbilisi . A few of those supporting the restoration of diplomatic relations with Russia came to say goodbye to their former colleagues. One woman brought a bouquet of flowers.
European Union monitors began patrolling Georgian territory Wednesday under a French-brokered peace deal, and Russian troops allowed some monitors into a buffer zone around South Ossetia despite insisting earlier they would be blocked.
A Russian peacekeeping statement Tuesday saying monitors would not be allowed on Georgian territory around the separatist region of South Ossetia had raised concern that Moscow was stalling on withdrawing its troops from Georgia as it promised to do after its August war with Georgia.
But when EU observers arrived Wednesday at Russian checkpoints near the Georgian villages of Karaleti and Kvenatkotsa, at the perimeter of Russia's so-called "security zone" on Georgian territory, Russians quickly let them move into the area.
The Russian soldiers didn't allow reporters to follow the observers into the buffer zone near Kvenatkotsa, but let Georgian civilians pass after examining their vehicles.
"The situation is very calm," Ivan Kukushkin, a Russian officer in charge of the checkpoint said with a smile.
EU mission head Hansjoerg Haber told reporters the Russian military had earlier warned the EU monitors from entering the buffer zone, citing concerns for their security.
"We received different signals," Haber told reporters. "We want to clarify these differences in the coming hours."
Another group of EU monitors visited the village of Odisi in a different sector just outside South Ossetia.
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