Azernews.Az

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday ordered a halt to military action in Georgia that Moscow had said was aimed "to encourage peace".
"I have decided to complete the operations which aimed to encourage the Georgian government to pursue peace. The goal has been achieved," Medvedev said in a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Anatoli Serdyukov and Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff Nikolai Makarov.
Pro-Western Georgia launched an offensive last week to retake the pro-Russian region of South Ossetia, which broke away from Georgian rule in the early 1990s. Moscow retaliated by sending troops to the region which pounded Georgian positions. Georgian forces had gained control over the capital of the breakaway province, Tskhinvali, but had to retreat a day later after a Russian attack.
Russia says 1,600 South Ossetian civilians have been killed in the fighting. Georgia has reported close to 200 killed and hundreds of injured.
Medvedev said the security of Russian peacekeepers and civilians has been restored, while the "aggressor" has been punished and sustained severe casualties.
The Russian president ordered the Defense Ministry and the Armed Forces headquarters "to pass decisions to destroy the aggressor in the event of a new aggression from the Georgian side."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after meeting with the OSCE chairman-in-office, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb on Tuesday that Moscow "would never negotiate" with incumbent Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. "I don`t think that Russia will be willing to even talk to Mr. Saakashvili, not to mention holding talks," Lavrov told a news conference.