Karaleti, Georgia ? Russian troops pulled back from their positions outside Georgia’s breakaway province of South Ossetia but held their ground in contested areas, setting the stage for more tension between the two countries that waged war in August.

Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili told The Associated Press the Russian withdrawal was a positive move, but he added that Georgia wouldn’t consider it complete until the troops leave the town of Akhalgori, near South Ossetia, and the Kodori Gorge in another Moscow-backed breakaway province, Abkhazia.

Russia maintains that Akhalgori is part of South Ossetia and considers the Kodori Gorge part of Abkhazia – claims that Georgia rejects.

Russian media carried a statement by Gen. Marat Kulakhmetov, who is in charge of Russian troops near South Ossetia, saying the pullout had been fully completed.

Moscow must pull its troops from the buffer zones surrounding the two regions by Friday under cease-fire agreements brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Earlier Wednesday, Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev said the pullout from areas outside South Ossetia and Abkhazia would be completed by midnight.

Officials at the European Union monitoring mission patrolling the buffer zone refused to comment on the latest controversy over disputed areas. In Washington, the State Department welcomed Russia’s moves but said it was watching to see if it completed the withdrawals by the deadline.

Despite the dispute, the Russian withdrawal paves the way for the return of Georgian authority to a wide swath of territory held by Moscow since the war.