Russia and Georgia mourn their dead

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL768040420080813

Wed Aug 13, 2008 7:37am EDT

By Michael Stott and Matt Robinson

MOSCOW/TBILISI (Reuters) - Russia and Georgia proclaimed a day of mourning on Wednesday for the dead in five days of fighting over separatist South Ossetia before difficult negotiations on the details of an EU-brokered peace plan.

The breakaway region and adjacent areas of Georgia were reported quiet overnight after the warring sides signed up in principle to a six-point plan delivered on Tuesday by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Agreement was clinched hours after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered a halt to military operations in Russia's ex-Soviet neighbor.

In Brussels, European Union foreign ministers will hear a report from France's Bernard Kouchner on the peace mission and are expected to endorse the plan for a ceasefire and a return to relative stability in the volatile region.

In Moscow, flags flew at half mast for a day of mourning after the loss of life in fighting that erupted last week when Russia rolled tanks and troops into breakaway South Ossetia to halt a Georgian offensive to retake the separatist region.

In and around South Ossetia's main town of Tskhinvali, occasional small-arms fire resounded but there were no major incidents on the frontline.

The Interior Ministry said it was "relatively quiet." But persistent rumors circulated through the town, with unconfirmed reports of Russian tanks rolling towards the town of Gori, 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of Tskhinvali.

Tens of thousands of Georgians rallied on Tuesday night to denounce the Russian operations, which included bombing raids against mainly military installations across the country. Russia was unbowed.