Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said Tuesday that his country will withdraw from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Russian news agencies reported.

"We are fully withdrawing from the CIS and suggest that other countries also leave this association run by Russia," Saakashvili was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

Saakashvili also declared the Russian troops deployed in the Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as "occupation forces".

Georgia began a military action against South Ossetia's forces last week in an attempt to re-establish control over the region. In response, Russian troops moved into the region to fight the Georgian forces.

The CIS is an alliance of 12 former Soviet republics that was put together following the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991.

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2008)