Russian President Orders End to Military Operations Against Georgia

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered an end to military action in Georgia.

Russian military officials say they will not move their troops or peacekeepers from their current positions.

Just before the Russian president's action, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the only way to end the conflict is for Georgia to withdraw from South Ossetia.

The announcement comes after Tuesday's bombing of the Georgian town of Gori by Russian aircraft.

Journalists in the town reported several casualties. Gori is 75 kilometers west of Georgia's capital, Tbilisi and was the birthplace of former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin

Also Tuesday troops belonging to the government of the separatist province of Abkhazia launched an offensive to push Georgian troops out of the disputed Kodori Gorge.

On Monday, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said Georgia will never surrender and that the country's democracy is stronger than Russian bombs.

Mr. Saakashvili told CNN television Monday that Russia's goal is clearly to topple his government. Mr. Lavrov said Tuesday that Russia has no plans to do so.

Large-scale fighting erupted last week when Russian forces invaded South Ossetia in response to a Georgian military operation against separatists. Russia sent thousands of troops into the region and took over the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali.

South Ossetia and Abkhazia are two pro-Russian Georgian regions that declared independence in the early 1990s.

Georgia says 150 people have been killed in the fighting. Russia says the death toll is at least 1,500. There is no independent confirmation of the number of casualties.