US President George W. Bush on Monday demanded that Russia end a “dramatic and brutal escalation” of violence in Georgia, agree to an immediate ceasefire and accept international mediation to end the crisis in the former Soviet republic.
Almost immediately after his return from the Olympics in China, Bush warned Russia in his strongest comments since the fighting erupted over Georgia’s separatist South Ossetia region last week to “reverse the course it appears to be on” and abandon any attempt to topple Georgia’s pro-Western government.
“Russia has invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century,” the president said in a televised statement from the White House, calling on Moscow to sign on to the outlines of a ceasefire as the Georgian government has done.
“The Russian government must reverse the course it appears to be on and accept this peace agreement as a first step toward solving this conflict,” Bush said, adding that he was deeply concerned that Russia might bomb the civilian airport in the capital of Tbilisi.
He said Russia’s escalation of the conflict had “raised serious questions about its intentions in Georgia and the region” and had “substantially damaged Russia’s standing in the world.”
“These actions jeopardize Russia’s relations with the United States and Europe,” Bush said. “It’s time for Russia to be true to its word to act to end this crisis.”
Despite the tough talk, the president’s comments were not backed up by any specific threat of consequences Russia might face if it ignores the warning. US officials said they were committed to the diplomatic track and were working with US allies in Europe and elsewhere, as well as with the Russians, to defuse the crisis.
Earlier on Monday, the US and the world’s six other largest economic powers issued a call similar to Bush’s for Russia to accept a truce and agree to mediation as conditions deteriorated and Russian troops continued their advances into Georgian territory.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her colleagues from the G7 leading industrialized nations pledged their support for a negotiated solution to the conflict that has been raging since Friday, the US State Department said.
“We want to see the Russians stand down,” deputy spokesman Robert Wood told reporters. “What we’re calling on is for Russia to stop its aggression.”
Rice and the foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan spoke in a conference call, during which they noted that Georgia had agreed to a ceasefire and wanted to see Russia sign on immediately, he said.
They called on Russia to respect Georgia’s borders and expressed deep concern for civilian casualties that have occurred and noted that Georgia had agreed to a ceasefire and said the ministers wanted to see Russia sign on immediately as urgent consultations at the UN and NATO were expected, Wood said.
Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Moscow yesterday to discuss the crisis in Georgia with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev before heading to Tbilisi on a high-stakes mission to halt the fighting in Georgia.
Sarkozy, who currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, was leading Western diplomatic efforts to halt the massive Russian military campaign against Georgia.
Sarkozy and the Russian president have already spoken by phone and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, together with Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, visited both sides in the conflict to try to achieve a peace deal. Stubb chairs the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Kouchner said on Monday during a dramatic visit to the bombed Georgian city of Gori with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili: “We want to stop this bloody war.”
France has been pushing an EU-backed peace plan, which Tbilisi has accepted, calling for an immediate truce, respect for Georgia’s territorial integrity and a return to the status quo that prevailed before Georgian troops attacked South Ossetia last week.
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