US Raises Stakes in Georgia, But Rules Out Military Role

Washington last night ruled out using military force in Georgia after putting the Pentagon in charge of the delivery of aid to the invaded Black Sea state and US non-combat troops on the ground.

A week into the crisis in the Caucasus, Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, traveled to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, to rally "the free world's support for a free Georgia" following criticism that the Bush administration had been slow to respond to the Russian attack on the region's key US ally.

Despite a French-brokered ceasefire agreement three days ago that required Russian and Georgian forces to retire to pre-conflict positions, Russian forces remained deep in what was Georgian-controlled territory, well outside the two contested provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia where the Russians were stationed as "peacekeepers".

The Russians remained in control of the town of Gori straddling the main road north of Tbilisi, of Senaki to the west, and were in the Black Sea port of Poti - all home to key Georgian military facilities.

Moscow said it did not know when it would pull out.

"We are planning it. It depends on many factors. I can't give you the date. We have stopped building up troops," Colonel-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, Russia's deputy chief of staff, told reporters in Moscow.

But last night Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, said there were signs that the Russians were withdrawing to the two pro-Russian breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The US landed a second large military transport plane with relief aid in Tbilisi after George Bush warned the Russians not to obstruct the aid effort, raising Russian suspicions that the Americans could be ferrying military supplies to the Georgians whose armed forces have been shattered by the Russians. "What is in it in reality?" asked Gen Nogovitsyn. "It is of major concern to the Russians."

Bush said on Wednesday: "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."

The tough statement encouraged speculation that the US military could come into dangerously close contact with the Russians, raising the risk of US-Russian clashes. Such fears were heightened by President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, who claimed that the Pentagon was taking control of Georgian ports and airports.

The US dismissed such claims. "We are not there to defend the ports, we are there to provide humanitarian aid," White House spokeswoman, Dana Perino, said.

Last night, Gates said: "I don't see any prospect for the use of military force by the United States in this situation." He added that Washington hoped to avoid any return to a cold war confrontation triggered by the Kremlin's invasion and rout of Georgia in under a week, but warned Moscow that it could do lasting damage to its relations with the west.

There would have to be unspecified consequences for Russia if it did not observe its ceasefire pledges. "If Russia does not step back from its aggressive posture and actions in Georgia, the US-Russian relationship could be adversely affected for years to come," said Gates.

But all the signs were that the Kremlin would effect a retreat, satisfied that it had achieved its war aims and the better to control and dominate the diplomatic mediation effort gathering steam.

Rice went to Tbilisi last night to bolster the embattled Georgians in the diplomatic tussle that was launched by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France on Tuesday and resulted in a six-point ceasefire and peace plan.

Before arriving in Tbilisi, the secretary of state met Sarkozy in France to toughen the mediation terms which are being conducted by the French on behalf of the European Union. Georgia "is a member state of the United Nations and its internationally recognized borders need to be respected ... The United States of America stands strongly, as the president of France just said, for the territorial integrity of Georgia", Rice said pointedly, alongside Sarkozy.

Presenting the ceasefire terms in Moscow on Tuesday night, Sarkozy signally refused to support Georgia's territorial integrity. "Georgia is an independent and sovereign state and I think this formula, the principle of sovereignty, is broader than the formula of territorial integrity," he said.