(PARIS) - Russia has so far kept its promises on the retreat of troops from Georgia, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country holds the European Union presidency, said Tuesday.

"The president is pleased that, for the moment, things are going as agreed in the accords," said a spokesman for the president, referring to the September 8 agreement signed in Moscow with Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.

"The president noted that the Russian troops had left the region of Poti and Senaki in the time agreed," the spokesman added.

Georgian officials confirmed on Saturday that Russian troops had pulled back from five strategic positions they had been occupying in the west of the country between the port of Poti and Senaki.

Senaki lies south of the separatist region of Abkhazia.

The statement came after Sarkozy met with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi late Tuesday at the Elysee Palace.

During their talks the two leaders welcomed the EU's decision to approve the deployment of 200 European observers in Georgia by October 1.

Berlusconi had promised to contribute 40 observers to the mission, said the Elysee spokesman.

France, Germany and Poland will be among the biggest contributors to the team, which will include police, justice, military and human rights experts. Few of them are expected to be armed.

The thorniest issue remains whether it will ever be able to deploy to the rebel regions. Georgia's attack early last month, aimed at retaking breakaway South Ossetia, sparked the military riposte from Russia.

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