Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev smiles during a meeting marking City Day celebrations in Moscow, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. Russia recognized Georgia's separatist provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent nations after the five-day war and has ringed the regions with checkpoints the West says violate the terms of a cease-fire brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Sarkozy is heading to Russia on Monday to meet with Medvedev and clarify parts of the EU peace deal, especially the terms for withdrawing troops.