Bush sends American troops, aid to Georgia

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(chinadaily.com.cn/Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-14 12:49

US President Bush began sending American troops and aid to Georgia on Wednesday to oversee a "vigorous and ongoing" humanitarian mission, the New York Times reported.

The first relief aircraft, a C-17 transporter carrying medical supplies and materials for shelter for thousands displaced by the fighting, arrived in Tbilisi, Georgia's capital, on Wednesday; a second was due Thursday.

US President George W. Bush (C) makes a statement on the situation in Georgia with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (L) and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, August 13, 2008. [Agencies]

Bush, flanked by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defence Secretary Robert Gates in the Rose Garden, demanded Moscow end all military actions and withdraw Russian troops sent into Georgia after fighting began last Thursday.

In a direct challenge to Moscow, Bush demanded Russia to end the crisis or risk its place in "the diplomatic, political, economic and security structures of the 21st century." It was Bush's strongest warning yet of potential retaliation against Russia over the conflict, the report said.

"We expect Russia to ensure that all lines of communication and transport, including seaports, airports, roads and airspace, remain open for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and for civilian transit," Bush said. "We expect Russia to meet its commitment to cease all military activities in Georgia, and we expect all Russian forces that entered Georgia in recent days to withdraw from that country."

The decision to send the American military, even on a humanitarian mission, put the US more firmly than ever on Georgia's side.

A senior Pentagon official was quoted as saying that the relief effort was intended "to show to Russia that we can come to the aid of a European ally, and that we can do it at will, whenever and wherever we want."

In Georgia, President Mikheil Saakashvili declared the relief operation a "turning point" in the conflict, which began on Thursday when Georgian launched a massive offensive in a bid to regain control over South Ossetia. Heavy rocket and artillery fire and air strikes pounded the provincial capital, Tskhinvali.

"We were unhappy with the initial actions of the American officials, because they were perceived by the Russians as green lines, basically, but this one was very strong," he told the New York Times in a telephone interview after Bush's statement.

Saakashvili said Bush's pledge meant Georgian ports and airports would be taken under US military control -- a claim swiftly denied by the Pentagon. A senior administration official said, "We won't be protecting the airport or seaport, but we'll certainly protect our assets if we need to."

Bush also dispatched Rice to Paris for talks with Europeans about the mediation efforts and then to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi "to demonstrate solidarity", the report said.

Tough words aside, there appears to be little the US can - or will - do to punish Russia, the Associated Press analysed, saying Bush has never publicly discussed any specific penalty.

In Moscow, an official denied violating an EU-brokered truce designed to end the six-day conflict and rejected accusations its troops and armour had advanced on Tbilisi or looted the key town of Gori.

"I said from the very beginning that if any such facts prove true, we will react in the most serious way...The peaceful population should be protected. We are investigating all these reports and will not allow any such actions," Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a news briefing in Moscow August 13, 2008. [Agencies]

Lavrov said the United States needed to choose between partnership with Moscow or the Georgian leadership, which he characterised as a "virtual project" of the Bush administration.

The fighting in the Caucasus, an important transit for Caspian oil, has unnerved the United States, NATO and the European Union and rattled investors.

Russia says more than 2,000 people, mostly civilians died when Georgia attacked South Ossetia. The claim couldn't be independently confirmed, but witnesses who fled the area said hundreds had died.

Tbilisi puts deaths on its side at over 175, with hundreds injured. That figure does not include South Ossetia.

Moscow announced an emergency aid package for South Ossetia, with Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin pledging 10 billion roubles ($414 million) to rebuild the shattered region.