NADARBAZEVI, Georgia (AP): Russian troops have lowered the flag at a checkpoint in Georgian territory and Georgian officials say another post has been dismantled.

The moves on Sunday come as Russia faces a Friday deadline to pull its troops out of the so-called ``security zones'' it established outside Georgian separatist territories after the five-day war between Russia and Georgia in August.

The pullback is mandated by an agreement brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Reporters saw the flag lowered in the early afternoon at the Nadarbazevi post about 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of the capital, Tbilisi.

Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said another Russian checkpoint, in the village of Ali, has been fully dismantled.