国际英语新闻：Georgian parliament extends military regime in country

TBILISI, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Georgian parliament decided on Saturday to extend the military regime in the country while Russia said it would maintain peacekeeping observation posts around South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two breakaway regions of Georgia.

    The parliament unanimously endorsed President Mikhail Saakashvili's proposal to extend the military regime in Georgia, which was originally declared for 15 days, until Sept. 8.

    David Darchiashvili, the head of the parliamentary committee for European integration, said Russian forces "still keep a number of strategically important territories under control," the Interfax news agency reported.

A Russian soldier takes photos before leaving Russian troop's sentry post some 20 kilometers from Gori, Georgia, August 22, 2008. Georgian National Security Council Secretary Alexander Lomaya said that Russian troops and tanks had pulled out from the strategically important city of Gori on Friday.

    Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, said Saturday in Moscow that Russia would maintain several peacekeeping observation posts in the security zone around South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

    Nogovitsyn's remarks came a day after Russian forces pulled outfrom the strategically important city of Gori, allowing Georgian police to regain control of the city, 76 km northwest of the capital Tbilisi.

    Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov has said Russia completed its troops withdrawal from Georgia on Friday.

    The United States and France, however, on Friday criticized Russia for not complying with a France-brokered ceasefire agreement with Georgia.

    U.S. President George W. Bush and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, in their telephone discussion, "agreed that Russia is not in compliance and that Russia needs to come into compliance now," U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

    Moscow sent in troops following Georgia's attacks on South Ossetia on Aug. 7 in an attempt to regain control of the breakaway region, which borders Russia. Russian forces drove Georgian forces out of the region and took over parts of Georgian territory.

    South Ossetia declared independence from Georgia in the early 1990s. However, its independence has not been internationally recognized.