DW-World.de
Deutsche Welle

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has signed a French-brokered ceasefire aimed at ending the armed conflict in the Georgian break-away region of South Ossetia. This came during a meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. Rice told a joint press conference that it was time for Russia to comply with the terms of the truce. She emphasised that this was only a short-term mechanism aimed at returning security to the region and did not resolve the territorial disputes that led to the conflict. She added that the agreement called for the installation of an international peacekeeping force, most likely starting with "monitors" from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. There are indications that Russia is not yet fully complying with the ceasefire. Unconfirmed reports say that a Russian military convoy has been moving further into Georgia.