The Russians misled Sarkozy linguistically.

[Rusiko Amirejibi-Mullen]

 From 'Russian troops in Georgia: pullout, pull-back, or stay put?' by  
Vladimir Socor (Eurasia Daily Monitor)


" Medvedev used the Russian word ?otvod,? meaning pull-back, rather  
than ?vyvod? for ?pullout.? The French should have been alert to this  
deception. It had already been used by Col.-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn  
in his daily briefing on August 18, when Nogovitsyn announced that at  
least some Russian forces would do an otvod, not a vyvod, and  
explained the Russian linguistic nuance for the world media (Interfax,  
August 18). This means that Russian troops would be pulled back within  
Georgia, rather than out of Georgia. Oblivious or perhaps undaunted,  
the Elysee Palace declared, ?President Medvedev announced to President  
Sarkozy that the withdrawal would be concluded on August 21-22, with  
the exception of 500 personnel charged with implementing additional  
security measures under article five of the August 12 agreement?  
(Agence France Presse, August 19)."