Tension remains between Russia, Georgia

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Source: CCTV.com | 09-04-2008 14:52

Both Russia and Georgia say they are committed to the ceasefire agreement that ended last month's brief war. But the commitment hasn't put a stop to hostile rhetoric and diplomatic tensions.

There is still no sign that tension is abating, after the Georgian parliament voted to lift the state of war and declare a state of emergency in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the regions Tbilisi calls "territory occupied by Russian troops."

A group of Russian snipers react to a Georgian  demonstration at the Igoeti checkpoint.(AFP/Marco Longari)

Russian soldiers are still manning a checkpoint on the outskirts of Karaleti, seven kilometers north of the Georgian town of Gori.

The United Nations refugee agency has said that 4,200 people had fled their villages near South Ossetia to the nearby city. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that the exodus of residents of ethnic Georgian villages in the buffer zone had exhausted Gori's shelter capacity. Yet local residents in the Abkhaz city of Sukhumi have expressed their welcome to the Russian soldiers.

Moscow insists the presence of Russian soldiers is in accordance with the ceasefire agreement after the war.