The United States on Friday disputed Russia's statement that it complied with a ceasefire agreement to withdraw forces from Georgia and issued another demand that Moscow do so immediately.

"It is my understanding that they have not completely withdrawn from areas considered undisputed territory and they need to do that," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters in Texas where US President George W. Bush was on a two-week working holiday.

Mr Bush earlier today spoke with French President Nicolas Sarkozy about the latest developments in Georgia and the two leaders agreed that "Russia is not in compliance and that Russia needs to come into compliance now," he said.

Moscow said it complied with the French-brokered ceasefire agreement with Georgia, withdrawing military forces that were sent in to reinforce peacekeepers in the South Ossetia breakaway region.

"I saw that announcement, we will continue to monitor the situation but we are not seeing that they are in compliance right now," Mr Johndroe said.

Russia and Georgia went to war after Tbilisi tried to retake the breakaway pro-Russian province of South Ossetia on August 7-8, prompting an overwhelming counter-attack from Moscow.

The Pentagon said Russian military movements remained minor and there was no clear evidence of a major pullout.

"There has been some movement of forces but whether or not that is an indication of a withdrawal or just a repositioning of forces is a bit difficult to determine at this point. But those movements remain minor," Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

The State Department said Moscow had started a pullout but not fulfilled the terms of a ceasefire deal.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood said that establishing checkpoints, such as around the port town of Poti, and "buffer zones" as the Russians were doing, were "definitely not part of the agreement."