Russian president signs ceasefire after nine days fighting
Updated on 16 August 2008
The Russian president signs a ceasefire agreement with Georgia after nine days of conflict.
The deal, agreed by Georgia yesterday, calls for all military activity to stop and for troops from both sides to pull back to their pre-conflict positions.
But sizeable Russian forces remain on Georgian soil, concentrated around the town of Kaspi, west of the capital Tbilisi, where Russia has denied Georgian claims that its forces have blown up a railway bridge.
And there is also a considerable Russian presence close to the Black Sea port of Poti, where Russian forces have sunk several Georgian naval vessels.
President Bush this afternoon called the ceasefire a "hopeful step", but also said South Ossetia and Abkhazia were part of Georgia and there was "no room for debate" on the issue.
