By DPA,
Moscow/Tbilisi : Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has declared an end to Russian military operations in Georgia, several agencies in Moscow reported, in a development coming amid Moscow’s calls for Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to stand down.
Interfax, Tass and other agencies reported that Medvedev said Russia was to stop military operations in Georgia.
Medvedev declared that the safety of Russian peacekeeping forces and Russian citizens had been guaranteed.
The Georgian “aggressor” had been punished, the Russian president said.
Moments earlier, at a press conference, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on Saakashvili to stand down.
“We believe that Mr Saakashvili cannot be our partner in negotiations. It would be better if he went,” said Lavrov during a press conference in Moscow with his Finnish counterpart and OSCE chair Alexander Stubb.