Washington  - The United States accused Russia Wednesday of violating its ceasefire agreement by failing to withdrawal thousands of troops from Georgia soil.

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin are using "excuses" to justify the presence of thousands of Russian soldiers in Georgia.

"These guys are trying to - at every turn - trying to wiggle out of a commitment they made and that their president put his name to," McCormack said.

"We've seen it since August, and it continues. They need to get out of Georgia," he added.

Thousands of Russian troops stormed into Georgia on August 7 in response to a clash between the Georgian military and Moscow-backed separatist militants in the breakaway province of South Ossetia. Fighting quickly spread to Abkhazia, a second secessionist region.

Russia agreed on August 11 to a French-brokered ceasefire that required Russia to pull its troops back into the disputed regions, where they have served in a peacekeeping role since the early 1990s.

But McCormack said Russian plan to keep 3,800 soldiers each in South Ossetia and Abkhazia exceeds the internationally-recognized peacekeeping mission and ceasefire agreement, which placed limitations of about 1,500 soldiers in each province. (dpa)