Then, without any explanation, word suddenly spread that the Georgian army was retreating from Gori.
Then Russian warplanes retaliated by attacking Georgian soldiers in South Ossetia and bombing other targets around Georgia, including Gori.
"We received assurances that Tbilisi will not be attacked, but the same thing was said about the town of Gori, " Lomsadze said.
As she spoke, a deadly artillery duel broke out on the plain below, which separated Gori from Russian troops in South Ossetia.
Gori is just 20 miles from South Ossetia, the breakaway region where this savage little war erupted just a few days ago.
But in 2010, it was taken down by the pro-Western government of Mikhail Saakashvili, much to the dismay of many in Gori.
Dozens of vehicles, including army trucks loaded with soldiers and civilian vehicles with soldiers hanging on to them, fled Gori, racing down the highway.
He said Russia may be threatening the capital city of Tbilisi after seizing control of Gori and may bomb the civilian airport at Tbilisi.
Italy have named Kristopher Burton at fly-half, and he will line up alongside Benetton Treviso team-mate Edoardo Gori, who wins his third cap at scrum-half.
Mr Stubb, who was in the Georgian town of Gori last week, said OSCE observers were now in South Ossetia trying to clarify the situation.
In Gori, the row over Stalin has changed the town's appearance.
Fabio Semenzato, brought into the squad after usual number nine Edoardo Gori injured a shoulder in last week's loss to Ireland, will now make his debut.
They are not permitted to patrol in Gori and other Georgian cities and cannot hamper aid distribution or control ports, highways or railroads, the officials said.
Before leaving for Russia for more talks, the French diplomat visited a hospital in Gori, where he was told that drugs were likely to last another few days.
He briefly visited Gori Monday, wearing a camouflage flak jacket.
Russian forces have forced most Georgian soldiers to abandon the key central Georgian town of Gori, 50 miles west of the capital, Tbilisi, in the fourth day of fighting in the Caucasus.
During the days of fighting that followed, the Georgian city of Gori came under heavy fire, with reports of Russian jets shelling parts of the city, buildings on fire and numerous casualties.
CNN: Russia-Georgia tensions still high one year on from conflict
And in Gori the decision to allocate funds to reinstate the statue was made not by some private people but by the city council and by the local governor, who represents the ruling council.
BBC: Georgia divided over Stalin 'local hero' status in Gori
It will not be returned to Stalin Street, but will be put in Gori's main tourist attraction, the Stalin museum, which is still a shrine to the dictator and scarcely touched since it was built in 1957.
And look how they turn to their profit as well as that of the same Russian-speaking minorities they want to bring back into the bosom of the Empire the argument of the "duty to intervene" that might justify the exactions, in Gori and elsewhere, of the Russian army and its militias.
And look how they turn to their profit -- as well as that of the same Russian-speaking minorities they want to bring back into the bosom of the Empire -- the argument of the "duty to intervene" that might justify the exactions, in Gori and elsewhere, of the Russian army and its militias.
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