Russian President Dimitry Medvedev told French President Nicolas Sarkozy today that Russiain forces would begin their withdrawal tomorrow. We will see. They have lied before. Putin lied to President Bush’s face at the Olympics. Lets see if Medvedev lies to Sarkozy.

The Russians may be already putting in place an excuse to stay as they reported that the Georgians were planning a “major provocative act” in Gori.

Russia’s Defence Ministry, underlining continued high tension between the two countries, said Georgia was planning a “major provocative act” in Gori.

The city was captured by Russian forces on Tuesday, as they fanned out from the disputed region into the Georgian heartland.

It said Georgia was forming bands of mercenaries who would be given Russian uniforms and told to loot and pillage.

But the Georgian Interior Ministry said: “Such a provocation would only be staged by the Russian side, with the aim of keeping Russian military units in the conflict zone.”

Russian troops remained in position around Gori, which commands the approaches to South Ossetia and the main east-west highway and should be central to covering a Moscow withdrawal.