President Dmitri Medvedev ordered a halt to military action in Georgia Tuesday, saying it had punished Georgia and restored security for civilians and Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia, according to AP.
In a nationally televised speech he ordered the military to defend itself and quash any aggressive action and armed resistance from Georgian forces.
Russia`s foreign minister said that Georgia`s president must leave office and Georgian troops should stay out of the breakaway South Ossetia region for good.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow won`t talk to President Mikhail Saakashvili and Saakashvili ``better go.``
The Russian statements came as French President Nicolas Sarkozy was heading to Moscow to negotiate an EU-brokered truce for the fierce conflict over the breakaway region.
