NADARBAZEVI (Georgia) - RUSSIAN troops began dismantling positions on Sunday in the so-called security zones inside Georgia they have occupied since August's brief but intense war, a Georgian Interior Ministry official said.

The moves came as Russia faced a Friday deadline for pulling back its troops under terms of a deal brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on behalf of the European Union. Hundreds of EU observers began monitoring Russia's compliance with the pact last week.

Russia and Georgia went to war in early Aug after Georgia launched a massive barrage on the capital of South Ossetia, one of two Georgian separatist regions where Russia has troops stationed as peacekeepers.

Russian forces then declared what it called a security zone roughly seven kilometers (four miles) deep inside Georgia south of South Ossetia and the other separatist region, Abkhazia.

The EU-brokered agreement obliges Russia to pull its troops out of the zones by Friday, but Russia says it plans to keep thousands of troops inside Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Russia recognised the independence of both regions after the fighting, a moved denounced by Georgia and the West; only Nicaragua and the Hamas government in Gaza have followed suit with recognition so far.

On Sunday, troops lowered the flag at a Russian base in Nadarbazevi, about 50 kilometers northwest of the capital, Tbilisi.

Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili described the position as a communications center and said Russia had promised to fully leave it on Monday.

Mr Utiashvili also said a checkpoint in Ali, in the zone around South Ossetia, was dismantled on Sunday and that Russian forces were leaving another position in Zugdidi, in the zone south of Abkhazia.

A spokesman for the European Union monitoring mission, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, confirmed that the Ali checkpoint was being taken down.

Georgian and EU officials could not immediately clarify how many Russian positions in total would have to be dismantled to meet the agreement's terms. After the war, Russia said it would set up a total of 36 checkpoints in the security zones - 18 in each. -- AP