Sunday, August 10, 2008

Georgian minister: We won't cede to Russians

Ynews reports:

Reintegration Minister Yakobashvili says Georgian troops 'merely regrouping', not pulling out of South Ossetia. 'Russians didn't expect us to fight with such determination and force,' he adds

"We're changing strategies and tactics, but we will not give up," Georgian Reintegration Minister Temur Yakobashvili told Ynet Sunday following reports that Russia expanded its bombing blitz against neighboring Georgia while Georgian troops pulled out of the capital of the contested province of South Ossetia under heavy Russian shelling.

Yakobashvili refuted the reports of a Georgian pullout, saying the troops were merely "regrouping" and "improving their positions".

"It must be understood that South Ossetia is an area that does not have clear boundaries and contains Georgian enclaves," he said, "as far as we're concerned, we haven't retreated but rather took up different positions."