Georgia: Attacks continuing despite Russia halt claim

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday that he had ordered an end to military operations against Georgia, but Tbilisi reported more attacks after the statement was made.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy meets his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, in Moscow.
Medvedev's announcement came minutes before French President Nicolas Sarkozy, head of the European Union, landed in Moscow to meet with Medvedev to negotiate terms for a possible cease-fire.
The two men were joined by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the presidential press service said.
"I have reached a decision to halt the operation to force the Georgian authorities to peace," Medvedev said. "The aggressor has been punished and has incurred very significant losses. Its armed forces are disorganized." Watch Georgia's reaction to halt in fighting »
"The statement on the halt of the military action by Russia is the news we had expected. It's good news," Sarkozy said later, according to an Interfax report.
Meanwhile, thousands of Georgians rallied in the country's capital, Tbilisi, following Medvedev's announcement.
U.S. officials also told CNN it was considering flying aid from bases in Germany to Georgia. There was also consideration being given to sending U.S. Navy ships into the Black Sea to conduct humanitarian relief missions.
Violence has raged since Thursday when Georgia launched a crackdown on separatist fighters in autonomous South Ossetia, where most people have long supported independence. Watch Lavrov speak about Georgia »
Russia -- which supports the separatists -- responded Friday, sending tanks across its border into South Ossetia. The conflict quickly spread to parts of Georgia and to Abkhazia, another separatist region.
Russian said it wanted to stop Georgian military actions against its peacekeepers in the breakaway regions.
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The Georgian government said despite Medvedev's announcement, Russian warplanes struck two Georgian villages and bombed an ambulance outside the breakaway province of South Ossetia. Watch more on the fighting in South Ossetia »
The Russian Defense Ministry called the Georgian claims "informational provocations" and believed they would continue, Interfax reported.
The ministry said it had not been "surprised by Georgia's reports alleging Russia is still continuing to fire."
Medvedev warned in his announcement that "when pockets of resistance and other aggressive actions occur," a decision concerning destruction had to be made.
Earlier a Georgian Interior Ministry official said Russian bombs had hit one of the three pipelines carrying oil to the Black Sea port of Poti. There was no oil in the pipeline at the time. Watch a report from Gori as Georgian troops pull out »
UK-based engery giant BP later said it had shut down two oil pipelines in the region as a "precautionary measure" linked to the security situation. None of its pipelines had been attacked.
A Dutch cameraman was killed on Tuesday morning in an incident in Gori, the Dutch Foreign Ministry confirmed. He was identified as Stan Storimans, of RTL TV. The correspondent who accompanied him was also injured.
One Russian diplomat told CNN up to 2,000 people had died in the conflict. Up to 100,000 people are thought to have been displaced by the violence, which has left South Ossetia's capital Tskhinvali in ruins. Interactive map: See how far the Russians have advanced »
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a Tuesday news conference that it wanted a demilitarized zone to be created in Georgian territory before a cease-fire could take effect.
The zone had to be big enough to prevent Georgia's military from attacking the breakaway province, Lavrov said. Watch more on Georgia's defense »
He said it would be best if Saakashvili stepped down as Georgia's leader -- something the president has vowed not to do -- but that Russia was not demanding his resignation.
"We have no plans to throw down any leadership," Lavrov said. "It is not part of our culture. It is not what we do."
However, he said Saakashvili's "barbaric and brutal action" had undermined trust in Georgia.