Russia In Partial Troop Pullback From Georgia; Shrugs Off UN, NATO Pressure

Brussels, Belgium (AHN) - Russia withdrew only part of its troops in Georgian cities Tuesday, defying a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a full pullout and NATO's cutting of communication lines with Moscow.

Some Russian troops remained in Georgia to protect South Ossetia's borders, Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of staff of Russia's armed forces, told CNN Tuesday.

Russian soldiers and tanks are at Poti while a column in Gori left for South Ossetia.

Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, dismissed the decision of NATO foreign ministers to suspend formal contacts with Russia during a meeting in Belgium Tuesday.

"As long as Russian forces are basically occupying a large part of Georgia, I cannot see a NATO-Russia Council convene at whatever level," NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said, according to CBS News.

The NATO ministers declined to suspend cooperation programs with Russia and an EU-Russia summit in November as pushed by the U.S. and supported by the U.K. and former Soviet republics. European countries are cautious that such a move will affect the supply of energy from Russia.

A U.N. Security Council resolution proposed by France Tuesday called for the withdrawal of Russian troops in Georgia but elicited ridicule from Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who described it as a waste of time.