Russian president calls halt to Georgian war

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Russia's president has ordered an end to military operations against Georgia, the official Russian news agency Interfax reported Tuesday.

"I have reached a decision to halt the operation to force the Georgian authorities to peace," President Dmitry Medvedev said, according to Interfax.

The report also quoted Medvedev as saying that the "aggressor in South Ossetia has been punished and has incurred very significant losses."

Shortly before the announcement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a press conference in Moscow Tuesday that it would only accept a cease-fire if Georgia withdrew from the disputed region of South Ossetia and agreed to renounce the use of force.

As Russian troops marched further into the country, capturing a strategic road and opening a second front in western Georgia after moving in from the breakaway region Abkhazia Tuesday, Lavrov said Moscow did not trust the country's leadership.

He said Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's "barbaric and brutal action" had undermined trust in Georgia.

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