Russian forces have begun to withdraw from conflict areas in Georgia in accordance with a peace plan, Col.-Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn of Russia's General Staff said Monday.
"The pullout of peacekeeping forces started today," he said in a daily official briefing.
However, an NPR reporter in the town of Zugdidi in western Georgia said there was no sign that Russian troops were leaving.
Meanwhile, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev warned Monday that any further aggression against Russian citizens in Georgia would face a "crushing response."
Medvedev's remarks were an apparent reference to alleged attacks on Russian peacekeepers in the area.
"If anyone thinks that they can kill our citizens and escape unpunished, we will never allow this. If anyone tries this again, we will come out with a crushing response," Medvedev told World War II veterans in the Russian city of Kursk.
"We have not attacked anyone; we only secured the rights and dignity of people as peacekeepers," Medvedev said.
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