Germany expects Russia to quit Georgia heartland

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany expects a full withdrawal of Russian troops from the heart of Georgia on Friday but has not seen clear signs yet of a substantial pullback, a government spokesman said.

"We are assuming and have a clear expectation that we will see a full withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia, from the core areas of Georgia, in the course of the day," spokesman Thomas Steg told a news conference.

"This morning it was not clear that one could say with any certainty that a substantial withdrawal was taking place."

Steg acknowledged that a peace plan between Moscow and Tbilisi foresaw the continued presence of a small number of Russian troops in a so-called buffer zone, but said there were clear limits to this deployment.

"The number (of troops) is fixed at 500 and it's temporary," Steg said. "There can't be a permanent buffer zone in Georgian core territory."

The comments appeared to contradict those of a senior Russian military official on Friday, who said Russian checkpoints in the area adjacent to Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia would be permanent.

Steg said that once Russia had fulfilled its obligations to withdraw, Germany expected Georgia to behave with a "cool head" and do everything possible to facilitate international supervision of the peace plan.

(Additional reporting by David Milliken and Madeline Chambers; Writing by Noah Barkin; Editing by Charles Dick)