Georgian President Edward Shevardnadze says Russian troops will be withdrawn from the Kodori gorge in north-western Georgia by Saturday. 

Mr. Shevardnadze made the announcement after returning from a trip to the gorge on the border with the breakaway Georgian province of Abkhazia. However, the Interfax news agency says the Russian Foreign Ministry could not confirm the withdrawal plans. 

Georgian officials say helicopters delivered the heavily-armed Russian troops to the gorge Friday. Russian defense officials confirmed the troop's presence, but said they are peacekeepers setting up checkpoints to assure the safety of local residents. 

Defense Minister David Tevzadze earlier insisted the troops must leave the area by the end of the day or the Georgian military could open fire. Mr. Shevardnadze also warned Russia he may demand the end of the their peacekeeping mission in Abkhazia. 

Abkhazia has maintained a self-proclaimed independence from Georgia since the end of a short but bitter war in the early 1990s. A ceasefire was worked out in 1994, but little progress has been made in resolving the situation. 

Russia initially supported the separatists, but now maintains a peacekeeping force in Abkhazia, located on Georgia's Black Sea coast, under the umbrella of the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States. The United Nations also has a small, unarmed observer team there. 

Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.

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