Moscow/Tbilisi  - The European Union chief diplomat Javier Solana met with Georgian leaders in Tbilisi on Tuesday and said he expects Russia to meet its obligation to pull it forces out of the buffer zone areas around Abkhazia and South Ossetia by October 10.

In talks coming on the eve of the start of the EU observer mission (EUMM) in Georgia, Solana insisted on Russia fulfilling its treaty commitment to pull its forces out of the two renegade Georgian provinces.

"The EU observers will already be starting on Wednesday with replacing the withdrawing Russian troops and we hope that this process will be completed by October 10 in keeping with the treaty," Solana said, according a report by Interfax.

He declined however to say whether the EU observers would also be able to carry out patrols directly in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The EUMM mission led by German diplomat Hansjoerg Haber would "behave precisely as is laid down in the ceasefire agreement," Solana said, while reiterating his call to all sides to adhere to the commitments made.

"We are here in order to help in the stabilization of Georgia," the top EU foreign policy official said.

Earlier, a spokeswoman for the EU mission said preparations were proceeding to start up operations in Georgia in the face of a Russian decision not to permit them to operate in the renegade provinces Abkhazia and South Ossetia despite an August promise seemingly allowing it.

"We are assuming that the Russians too will hold to the agreements," said a spokeswoman for the mission Tuesday in the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

"We're starting tomorrow and we'll see then," the spokeswoman said.

Earlier Tuesday, a Russian army spokesman cited by the Interfax news agency said the EU observers taking up positions in the region to monitor a Russo-Georgian ceasefire agreement will have to remain in "security zones" between the two countries' forces, and Russian forces will not allow the EU monitors free movement through Russian- controlled territory.

The decision threw a monkey wrench into a ceasefire brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy during August's Russo-Georgian war.

According to the plan, EU observers would monitor both sides' adherence to the agreement, in part, by keeping tabs on force levels in the region - an almost impossible task if observers are not allowed into territory controlled by the Russian army.

All parties to the ceasefire agreement "had agreed to this," the Russian army official was reported to have claimed.

The Kremlin came into conflict with the international community in August and September after fighting stopped when Russian troops systematically destroyed much of Georgia's military infrastructure, citing a ceasefire term allowing them "to establish and maintain local security."

Russia's rejection of a wide-ranging EU observer mission in the region was accompanied by an announcement Moscow would pull much of its diplomatic legation out of Georgia, making direct day-to-day negotiations between the two countries substantially more difficult.

Some 30 Russian diplomats were set to depart the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Tuesday, leaving behind a small caretaker team in the Russian embassy.

Russia recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia at the end of August. Most of the international community has criticized the decision. (dpa)