U.S. President George Bush says Russia must end the crisis in Georgia to repair the damage to its relations with the United States, Europe and other nations.
In his weekly radio address, Mr. Bush called Russia's invasion of Georgia "completely unacceptable." He urged Russia to respect Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and honor its pledge to withdraw forces from Georgian territory.
President Bush said the United States will continue to deliver humanitarian aid to Georgia and he called on Russia to keep open all lines of communication and transport.
On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed support for Georgia's independence and democratic system, at a news conference in Tbilisi with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. Rice said Russian troops must immediately withdraw from Georgia under a cease-fire agreement.
A senior U.S. official said Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov
assured Rice that Russia will implement the cease-fire, when she called
him after leaving Tbilisi. It is not clear whether Russian President
Dmitri Medvedev has actually signed the agreement.
Mr. Saakashvili said he signed the cease-fire after getting
"clarifications" from the French, who negotiated the deal earlier this
week.