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Georgia, Russia exchange war prisoners

By Christopher Torchia ASSOCIATED PRESS | Tuesday, August 19, 2008

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IGOETI, Georgia (AP) – Russia and Georgia on Tuesday exchanged prisoners captured during their brief war, a move that may reduce tensions and, Georgia hopes, hasten the promised withdrawal of Russian troops.

Georgian Security Council head Alexander Lomaia said the swap removes any pretext for Russians to hold positions in Igoeti. The village is the closest that Russian forces have advanced to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, about 30 miles away.

Yet as NATO foreign ministers prepared to hold an emergency meeting in Brussels over a unified response to Russia's invasion of its tiny neighbor, there still was no sign of the Russian troop pullout from Georgia that was supposed to have begun Monday.

A Russian defense official indicated Tuesday that a complete withdrawal from Georgia proper was not imminent.

"Rear units, as well as second- and third-echelon units are being pulled back first. The vanguard units will be pulled back at the final stage," Col. Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for Russia's land forces, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

Tuesday's prisoner exchange, witnessed by Lomaia and Russian Maj. Gen. Vyacheslav Borisov, included 15 Georgians and five Russians, Lomaia said.

"It went smoothly, he said.

The swap began when two Russian military helicopters landed in Igoeti. Two people in stretchers were unloaded and handed over to Georgian officials.

Georgian ambulances later brought two people to the scene and took them to the Russian helicopters. One was on a gurney.

Russian troops last week drove Georgian forces out of the Russian-backed separatist region of South Ossetia, where Georgia on Aug. 7 launched a heavy artillery barrage.