France's foreign minister says Russian forces' withdrawal from Georgia is "not complete or perfect".
Bernard Kouchner said Russia had met a deadline to vacate the buffer zones it had imposed around Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
But he said there remained disputed pockets of land.
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Mr Kouchner travelled in a convoy of armoured cars and police vehicles through towns near South Ossetia.
In a village where one house had been all but destroyed, he pointed out that most were still standing, adding: "It's sad, but it's not hell."
Asked if Russia had honoured the ceasefire deal, Mr Kouchner said: "I think so, but partly."
"They had to leave the buffer zone before October 10 and they did it," he said.
But he said he was aware of three disputed pockets of land, and that these would be discussed at an international conference in Geneva next week.
Georgia has complained that Russian forces still occupy Akhalgori and Perevi in South Ossetia, and the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia - areas that were under Georgian control before conflict erupted on 7 August.
Concerns remain
Mr Kouchner defended the ceasefire deal that he helped broker, and that brought the short war to an end.
He said: "It was not perfect but it was a document negotiated under fire," and that it had stopped the Russians going all the way to Tbilisi.
He also said he was happy that the European Union had stuck together even though there were wide differences of opinion over how to approach Russia.
Mr Kouchner's verdict will carry weight with the 27 European Union foreign ministers who meet next week to make a judgment on a Russian withdrawal, says Mark Mardell, the BBC's Europe editor, from Georgia.
Georgian Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili said on Thursday that while her government welcomed the Russian pull-out from the buffer zones, Russian forces remained in great numbers within Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Moscow has recognised both territories' independence, and says it intends to set up permanent military bases there.
"The concerns that we have are that the Russian side clearly says that it will not under its voluntary intent withdraw forces from the rest of the territory of Georgia," Ms Tkeshelashvili said.
Russia says it is defending Russian citizens in the two territories.
The fighting in the region began on 7 August when Georgia tried to retake South Ossetia by force after a series of lower-level clashes with Russian-backed rebels.
Russia launched a counter-attack and the Georgian troops were ejected from both South Ossetia and Abkhazia days later.
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(BBC)
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