Russia's Lavrov tells Georgia to remove forces

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his Georgian counterpart on Sunday that all Georgian forces must be pulled out of the conflict zone in South Ossetia.

A Russian foreign ministry statement said Lavrov "stressed the absolute necessity of a full withdrawal of all Georgian armed groups from the conflict zone in order to return the situation to (previous) agreements..."

The statement said Lavrov and Georgian Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili spoke in response to a request from Tbilisi. Earlier on Sunday, Georgia said it had halted all military activity and sought formal talks with Russia on a cease-fire.

(Reporting by Ron Popeski)