The Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili, said today he did not believe Russia would withdraw from his country in the coming days as promised, but the most Georgia could do in response was offer "passive resistance".
The Russian army has been reducing its presence in some of the towns it has occupied, but is reportedly taking new territory and holding positions within 30 miles of the capital.
The Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, yesterday told his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, that Russian troops would withdraw from most of Georgia by Friday. Some would go to Russia, according to the Kremlin, and others to South Ossetia and the security zone that extends four miles into Georgia along the South Ossetian border.
There has been little or no change in the positions the Russians hold near the capital, or throughout much of the region. Saakashvili said that while Russia was withdrawing troops in some places, "they are going around now and trying to grab new strategic areas in Georgia".
He repeated his plea for help from the international community. "We still expect more," he said. "We still believe this is not all, that this is just a beginning.
"What we're seeing now is a clear regrouping and also, again, some kind of deception campaign, saying 'Look, we're moving out'," Saakashvili said, adding that the Russians were "making fun of the world".
Should the Russian occupation continue, he said, Georgians might begin peaceful protests and "passive resistance". He said Georgians would "hold hands together ... and they will reconstruct".
Russia was "dreaming to turn my country into Chechnya - into some kind of insurgency warfare field where they go around and operate with brutal force".
While the majority of Georgians supported Saakashvili's government during the fighting, this could change if the occupation continues and the 158,000 people who have been displaced are unable to return to their homes.
Saakashvili said the popularity of his government would "depend on how we will perform, how well we rebuild. The last thing I'm worried about is about my political future right now."
