EU monitors enter Georgia buffer zone to begin peace mission

An EU team, mainly French, patrols in Georgia, engaging with Georgian soldiers. They prepare to cross into Russian-controlled territory, seeking to deliver messages. At a Russian checkpoint, journalists are asked to stay back to avoid provoking anger. The team returns with news that soldiers are ordered to withdraw, allowing the mission to proceed. The EU hopes its observers will enter South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but Russia claims these regions are independent and control entry.

What agreement is mentioned in relation to the mission's passage?

How does Russia view the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in relation to the EU observers?