@Annoy Mouse

They are by no means in a catbird seat. In fact their plan, to overthrow Saakashvili by force has failed. The intention it seems, was to destroy Georgian army and take over Tbilisi in the shortest time possible. Thus, Georgia would be lost to US, and any response by US in Georgia would be pointless. That did not come to pass. If it only wanted SO and Abhazia, it merely had to stay there. Instead, the gamble failed and now Russia in a precarious position. Diplomatically and economically it is really bad for Russia, at the same time, continuing forward would only worsen that and provoke US response. It seems logical then, to pull back, but that would mean that the end-result is the same as if they stayed in SO, but with much worse consequences for Russia’s standing. As such, it seems that Russia is trying to blackmail US and EU with the territory of the Georgia proper they are holding and their potential actions. Kind of like robbers who went to rob a bank, but failed, start taking people hostage to get better terms for their surrender or possibly escape.