The promised withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia will be complete by August 22, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said, according to dpa. The withdrawal will be total with the exception of 500 troops as a security measure for the local population, said Medvedev in a joint statement with French President Nicholas Sarkozy on Tuesday evening. Medvedev reaffirmed his approval of the deployment of observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Georgia, saying that they should work "within the temporary security zone." France plans to send observers as part of the OSCE team.
