(ERGNETI) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Friday that Russia had withdrawn from Georgian buffer zones but "a long road" lay ahead in resolving other remaining issues from August's war.

The withdrawal plan as required by a ceasefire "is fulfilled up to the 10th (of October)," he said near the de facto border with Georgia's rebel region of South Ossetia.

"The Russians needed to have left the adjacent zones, they have," he said, referring to the buffer zones around South Ossetia and Georgia's other rebel region, Abkhazia.

"Negotiations will begin in five days in Geneva. Nothing is perfect, it's a long road, step by step," he said. "For the moment it seems to be relatively satisfying."

Under an agreement brokered by the European Union in September, Russia had until Friday to withdraw from Georgian territory outside of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the so-called "buffer zones."

But the initial ceasefire agreement that ended the war in August called for Russian soldiers to withdraw to positions held before the conflict.

Russian forces remained Friday in at least two positions they did not hold prior to the conflict: the Akhalgori district of South Ossetia and the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia.

Both areas were under Georgian control before August.

When asked if Russian forces had returned to positions prior to the conflict, as required by the agreement, Kouchner said "not yet."

"We had said the adjacent zones first and the adjacent zones have been emptied," he said. "It's not the same step."

The French foreign minister was in Georgia to determine first-hand whether Russian forces had withdrawn by Friday as required by the EU-brokered agreement.

Kouchner, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, was also to hold talks with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili on Friday, when the EU deadline for the buffer-zone withdrawal expires.

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