U.S. says Russia has not complied with Georgia ceasefire

By Jeremy Pelofsky

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - Russia has not pulled its troops out of Georgia, the United States said on Friday, rejecting Moscow's declaration that it has fulfilled a pledge to withdraw under a French-brokered ceasefire agreement.

President George W. Bush spoke with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and they agreed that "Russia is not in compliance and that Russia needs to come into compliance now," said White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

"It is my understanding that they have not completely withdrawn from areas considered undisputed territory and they need to do that," Johndroe told reporters in Texas, where Bush is spending two weeks at his ranch.

Moscow said on Friday it had complied with the ceasefire by withdrawing its military forces from Georgian soil.

But Johndroe and other U.S. officials challenged that statement, saying there had still been no large-scale pull back.

"I saw that announcement, we will continue to monitor the situation but we are not seeing that they are in compliance right now," Johndroe said.

The Pentagon called Russian troop movements "minor."

"There has been some movement of forces but whether or not that is an indication of a withdrawal or just a repositioning of forces is a bit difficult to determine at this point. But those movements remain minor," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.

Russia and Georgia went to war after Tbilisi tried to retake the breakaway pro-Russian province of South Ossetia on August 7-8, prompting an overwhelming counter-attack from Moscow.

Russian troops moved beyond South Ossetia and a second separatist region of Abkhazia, leading to criticism from the United States and others that Moscow had gone too far.

The dispute between Moscow and Washington has threatened cooperation on other issues, such as effort to convince North Korea and Iran to give up nuclear programs.

Additionally, the United States has said it is reviewing its military relations with Russia, while the 26-country NATO military alliance said it was suspending regular contacts with Moscow for now.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood also criticized Russia's decision to establish checkpoints in Georgia, such as around the port town of Poti, and "buffer zones," saying those were "definitely not part of the agreement."

Two U.S. lawmakers who flew aboard a cargo plane full of humanitarian aid to Georgia said Congress should move quickly to provide financial aid for rebuilding in the country. They also met with Saakashvili and other government officials.

When Congress is in session in September "we will turn our attention to providing the assistance that Georgia needs to rebuild its infrastructure, provide humanitarian relief, aid its damaged military and help shore up its currency," said Rep. Howard Berman, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives committee on foreign affairs.

(Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell and Andrew Gray, Editing by Anthony Boadle)