Russia withdrew a unit of its troops from a base in the hills outside the Georgian city of Gori on Tuesday, as the head of its intelligence service accused its southern neighbour of planning terrorist acts in the Caucasus.

In a carefully scripted move to show the world that Russia was pulling back, reporters witnessed the departure of about 120 troops and 10 tanks from the Runeti military base west of the capital Tbilisi. But beyond that there was little evidence on the ground of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s promised adherence to the six-point plan agreed with Nicolas Sarkozy, his French counterpart, last week.