Rice: Russia will pay a price

However, in a reflection of American anger over the Russian invasion of its small, pro-Western neighbour, a senior US official said the alliance would have to rethink a range of planned activities - from a meeting with Russia's defence minister foreseen in October, to regular military consultations in areas like counter-terrorism, managing air space or rescue at sea.

Nato officials said that approach was likely to win support at today's emergency meeting of alliance foreign ministers, despite wariness among some European allies about further damaging relations with Moscow.

"Russia will pay a price," Ms Rice said before flying to Brussels for the talks.

Neutral Sweden, which has close ties with Nato but also engages in military exchanges with Russia, announced yesterday that it would halt all exercises and military ties with Russia because of the Georgia conflict.

The Swedish government called Moscow's sending of troops into Georgia destabilising and a crime that broke international law.

How far Nato itself goes in cutting back ties with Moscow will depend on Russia's implementation of a EU-brokered peace plan.

Russia promised yesterday to start withdrawing forces back to positions in Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia province in line with the peace deal negotiated last week by French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

But reports from Georgia said Russian troops appeared instead to be consolidating their hold on parts of Georgian territory.

Russia's ambassador to Nato, Dmitry Rogozin, warned that what he described as an anti-Russian propaganda campaign could jeopardise existing security co-operation.

"We hope that tomorrow's decisions by Nato will be balanced and that responsible forces in the West will give up the total cynicism that has been so evident (which) is pushing us back to the Cold War era," Mr Rogozin said.

The Nato meeting will also discuss support for a planned international monitoring mission in the region and a package of support to help Georgia rebuild infrastructure damaged by Russian forces.

Finland's foreign minister Alexander Stubb will brief his Nato colleagues on proposals to send up to 100 more unarmed military monitors under the control of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

"We need these monitors in there and we need them now," Mr Stubb said. "If we can't get those military observers in there, I don't think the ceasefire will hold."

Nato is expected to offer to send civil emergency experts to help Georgia plan repairs to its power network, airports, hospitals and other infrastructure, but the alliance is unlikely to send staff to carry out the reconstruction.

The ministers are expected to restate Nato's firm opposition to the separatist ambitions of Georgia's pro-Russian breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili has accused Nato leaders of encouraging the Russian invasion by postponing a decision in April to put Georgia and Ukraine on a fast track to Nato membership.

The Western allies held off because Germany and France were wary of Russian opposition to the move, since Russia is Europe's main energy supplier.

In a visit on Sunday to the beleaguered Georgian capital of Tbilisi, however, German chancellor Angela Merkel repeated Western promises that Georgia would eventually join Nato.

Meanwhile, US military trainers - the only American boots on the ground - said the Georgian soldiers they knew who were sent to repel the Russians had fighting spirit, but were not ready for war.

The Georgians were "beginning to walk, but by no means were they running," said US Army captain Jeff Barta, who helped train a Georgian brigade for peacekeeping service in Iraq.

"If that was a US brigade it would not have gone into combat.

"Some of the soldiers seemed really grateful for the things we taught them," said Capt Barta, 31, but he acknowledged it was not nearly enough.

Trainers start with the basics of infantry warfare - shooting, taking cover, advancing - then on to squad and platoon manoeuvres, Barta said.

The Georgians do not lack "warrior spirit", he said, but added that they were not ready for combat.

They inherited bad habits from the Red Army, whose soldiers would not move without a direct order from a superior, and needed to be taught to think on their own, Capt Barta said.

The Georgian army has five regular infantry brigades, each with some 2,000 troops. Only one of them - the 1st, which was rushed home from Iraq by US planes after fighting broke out - had been trained to a Nato level.