Bush commits US forces to Georgian territory

A military cargo plane was en route to the country as he spoke and it will be followed by more aircraft and a US Navy group.

Mr Bush said that Russia must ensure that "all lines of communication and transport, including seaports, roads and airports", remain open to let deliveries and civilians through.

"To begin to repair the damage to its relations with the United States, Europe and other nations, and to begin restoring its place in the world, Russia must keep its word and act to end this crisis," he said.

Meanwhile, secretary of state Condoleeza Rice is being sent to Paris to help with the West's diplomatic response to the crisis, then on to the Georgian capital Tbilisi as an expression of support for the government.

Mr Bush said it appeared Russia was not keeping its word over a supposed cease-fire deal brokered by France.

"Russia has also stated that it has halted military operations and has agreed to a provisional cease-fire," he said. "Unfortunately we've been receiving reports of Russian actions that are inconsistent with these statements."

The US intervention came after Russian troops and paramilitaries rolled into the strategic Georgian city of Gori today smashing the truce designed to end the conflict that has uprooted 100,000 people and scarred the Georgian landscape.

Georgian officials said the town of Gori, which sits on Georgia's main east-west road, was looted and bombed by the Russians.

To the west separatists in Abkahzian backed by Russian military pushed out Georgian troops and even moved into Georgian territory itself, planting a flag over the Inguri River.

The developments came less than 12 hours after Georgia's president Mikhail Saakashvili said he accepted the ceasefire deal.

The EU peace plan called for both sides to retreat to the positions they held prior to the outbreak of fighting last week. The phrasing apparently would allow Georgian forces to return to the positions they held in South Ossetia and Abkhazia and clearly obliged Russia to leave all parts of Georgia except South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The plan ran into the stark reality of Russian dominance on the battlefield, however.

Georgian refugees have streamed into Tbilisi, the capital, or the western Black Sea coast while South Ossetian refugees headed north to Russia. Those left behind in devastated regions of Georgia cowered in rat-infested cellars or wandered nearly deserted cities.

In Brussels, Belgium, France sought support from its EU partners to deploy European peacekeeping monitors to the area.

The Russia-Georgia dispute also reached the international courts, with the Georgian security council saying it had sued Russia for alleged ethnic cleansing.

For his part, Medvedev reiterated accusations that Georgia had committed "genocide" in trying to reclaim South Ossetia.

Mr Bush later demanded that Russia ends all military activities in Georgia.

“The United States stands with the democratically elected government of Georgia and insists that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia be respected,” he said during brief but stern remarks in the White House Rose Garden.

Moscow’s apparent violation of a cease-fire puts its global aspirations at risk, he said.

One military cargo plane loaded with supplies landed in Georgia tonight, while Defence Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said later that a second military aid flight would arrive tomorrow.

He added that a US assessment team was to arrive soon in Georgia to determine other needs. The Pentagon also is preparing to send the hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, if needed, though it would take weeks to get to the region.

The administration also will review what military help is needed for Georgia’s now-shattered armed forces, Mr Whitman said.

Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, meanwhile, called the Western response inadequate.

“I feel that they are partly to blame,” he said. “Not only those who commit atrocities are responsible ... but so are those who fail to react.”