Russian troops still held positions deep in Georgia on Friday, one month after a truce brought a supposed end to the conflict and with Moscow ratcheting up its war of words with the West.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was to address a high-profile group of Western foreign-policy experts as the Kremlin appeared to be stepping up a media campaign in defense of its action over Georgia.

He and Russia's powerful Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have made a series of statements in recent days blasting Georgian aggression and accusing the West of backing Tbilisi and manipulating events.

"What amazes me is the strength of the West's propaganda machine. It is simply stunning, amazing," Putin said in the southern resort of Sochi.

He dismissed accusations that Russia's military intervention into Georgia, which ended with an EU-brokered ceasefire on August 12, was part of an "imperial" agenda. "We do not have and will not have any of the imperial ambitions that people accuse us of," Putin said.

Tbilisi said little was changing on the ground despite a fresh commitment from Medvedev on Monday that all Russian troops would be out of Georgia within a month apart from two rebel regions at the centre of last month's conflict.

"There has been no sign of a withdrawal," Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili told AFP. "They are making preparations, we can see that, but in terms of reducing the number of personnel, it's still the same as it was. Since last week they have been saying they are going to leave in a couple of days."

Troops did appear to be making preparations to leave at at least three of the five posts which under the latest accord must be clear by early next week.

The war started when Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili launched a massive assault on August 7 to regain control of the breakaway province of South Ossetia from Moscow-backed separatists.

Russia responded and routed the US-trained Georgian army in a matter of days in a conflict that is estimated to have killed hundreds of people on both sides. Tens of thousands fled their homes.

Moscow said it was defending Russian nationals when it sent in troops to halt Georgia's offensive. Georgia says Russia has effectively annexed South Ossetia and a second breakaway region, Abkhazia.

West Speak

The West, particularly the United States, is furious that Moscow went on to recognise the two breakaways as independent states and then establish diplomatic relations and promise military bases.

Washington argues Russia's decision to base 7,600 troops in Abkhazia and South Ossetia on a long-term basis violates the ceasefire, which called for all troops to return to their pre-conflict positions.

Medvedev has agreed to pull out all troops from buffer zones surrounding the regions within 10 days of the deployment of EU ceasefire observers on October 1.

The European Union wants the monitors to be allowed into Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but Russia has ruled this out.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said he is considering sending a fact-finding mission to Georgia and is willing to facilitate international talks on South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Medvedev said on Monday that an international conference on the regions would take place in Geneva on October 15 although no further details have since been announced.

In the United States, Republican vice presidential pick Sarah Palin hinted that a Republican president would take a tough line over Georgia. "For Russia to have exerted such pressure in terms of invading a smaller Democratic country, unprovoked, is unacceptable," Palin said.