Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Russia isn’t fulfilling the terms of the French-brokered peace that ended a five-day war in Georgia last year, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said.

European observers still don’t have access to the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia to monitor the August 2008 cease-fire, Kouchner said on Ekho Moskvy radio station today. Kouchner is in Moscow for routine talks on security.

“No, no, no,” he said when asked if Russia was sticking to the so-called Medvedev-Sarkozy plan, named after the French and Russian presidents. Kouchner played a key role in the shuttle diplomacy that led to an end of hostilities.

Both Russia and Georgia are to blame for the war over the separatist regions, a European Union-appointed panel said in a report yesterday. While Georgia fired the first shots, Russia violated international law throughout the conflict, the inquiry found.

Kouchner agreed with the conclusion that the conflict escalated into a full-scale war after provocations from Georgia and Russia. Observers are needed on both sides of the cease-fire line to keep the peace, he said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy negotiated a cease-fire with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in August 2008, though the last Russian soldiers didn’t pull back from Georgian territory until two months later. Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent countries, stationing troops in both regions and pledging economic aid.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lucian Kim in Moscow at lkim3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 1, 2009 04:37 EDT