Some Russian troops and military vehicles were on the move on Thursday, including 21 tanks one reporter saw heading towards Russia from inside South Ossetia.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner hailed the report of tank movements.

"We are waiting... for the Russians to respect their word," Mr Kouchner told reporters in Paris. "We waited twice with dashed hopes. This time, it appears that there is at least the beginning of a fulfilment."

But in Washington, Defence Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said the moves appeared cosmetic.

"There has not been much evidence of any significant Russian withdrawals. There have been what I would call some minimal movements to date," he said.

The commander of Russia's land forces, General Vladimir Boldyrev, said that checkpoints in the security zones would be up and running on Friday and that forces not involved in that effort would head back to Russia -- but that it would take about 10 days after that for them to get there.

That suggests Russian forces could still be holding territory deep in Georgia up to the end of August.