29. Russia Withdraws

TSKHINVALI, Georgia (AFP) - Georgia faced dismemberment Thursday as Moscow-backed separatists hardened independence demands and Russia retained an iron grip on the eve of a promised troop withdrawal.

Tens of thousands gathered in Sukhumi, capital of Abkhazia, to demand Russian recognition of their independence. Over 1,000 people attended a similar rally in South Ossetia's main town Tskhinvali, still recovering from the fighting almost two weeks ago between Russian and Georgian troops.

Moscow has hinted at giving both recognition in a move that would risk sparking one of the deepest crises between Russia and the West since the Cold War.

Russia's two houses of parliament were to meet on the issue in emergency session Monday. The Kremlin would have the final decision.

The Russian troops that stormed into Western-backed Georgia two weeks ago showed little sign of movement Thursday, although Moscow promises to withdraw them by the end of Friday.

A checkpoint backed by a tank continued to block the main road from the capital Tbilisi to South Ossetia.

An AFP reporter on the border of Russia and Georgia saw little military traffic leaving South Ossetia.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, a close Western ally, accused Russia of "stalling" and "taking new strategic positions."

Meanwhile, the top US and NATO general in Europe arrived in Tbilisi promising to rebuild the country's armed forces, which were largely trained by the US before being pulverised by Russia.

"We will have to help them rebuild because they are a partner in the war on terror," General John Craddock said.

Under a French-brokered peace plan an unspecified number of Russians will be allowed to remain in South Ossetia as "peacekeepers" - a role they previously shared with Georgian troops prior to this month's conflict.

General Anatoly Nogovitsyn insisted that "by the end of August 22 all forces of the Russian Federation will be within the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeepers."

That appeared to mean that by Saturday troops would be located only in, or close to South Ossetia and Abkhazia, not the rest of the country.

But Nogovitsyn underlined Russia's position that Georgian troops will not be permitted to return to South Ossetia, effectively signalling an end to Georgia's hopes of recovering the territory.

"From a legal point of view, we consider that the Georgian side, not having fulfilled its obligations, and instead crudely violating them, has lost the moral right to undertake the peacekeeping function," he told journalists in Moscow.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe announced that 20 ceasefire observers would start working from Monday.

Separately, the French ambassador to Georgia was briefly "blocked" by Russian forces from returning to Tbilisi from a trip to northern Georgia, drawing a protest from the French foreign ministry in Paris.

Russian tanks poured into Georgia on August 8, initially to repel an attempt by Georgia's army to seize back control of South Ossetia, first lost during fighting in the early 1990s.

Troops then expelled Georgian forces from their last foothold in Abkhazia, another separatist zone. They also took control of key towns, military bases, roads and the oil port of Poti.

Although the conflict is centered on tiny areas of land nestled under the southern slopes of the Caucasus mountains, the situation spiralled into an international crisis when Russia responded to the Georgian attack in South Ossetia.

Russia backs the separatists and Western powers prize Georgia for access to Caspian Sea energy exports, as well as Saakashvili's bold reform programme.

Georgia is seeking NATO membership and until the conflict with Russia had been the third largest contributor of troops to the US operation in Iraq - the 2,000 soldiers were hastily flown home, too late to join the brief conflict.

On Thursday, Russia confirmed that it was suspending cooperation with NATO, a spokeswoman for the Western military alliance said in Brussels.

So far Western capitals have shown little leverage over Russia, a major energy exporter to Europe and an important player on major international issues including the Iranian nuclear programme.

Many in Russia's political establishment see stripping Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia as a tit-for-tat response to the West's pushing through of independence this year for Kosovo from Serbia.