Russia said it had received a Georgian note declaring an end to military activities in Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia, but said fighting was still proceeding in the area, Russian media said.

"We have been handed a note that from 5 a.m. Georgia stopped firing and is withdrawing forces from the conflict zone, but our information does not confirm the Georgian statement," Interfax news agency quoted Russia's Foreign Ministry sources as saying.

"There are indications that exchanges of fire are continuing and the Georgian forces have not been fully withdrawn from the conflict zone."

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.