U.S. urges Russia to halt conflict with Georgia

By Matt Robinson

TBILISI (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush urged Russia on Monday to end its armed conflict with Georgia after Moscow's forces advanced deeper into the territory of its pro-Western neighbor, ignoring Western pleas to halt.

"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," Bush said.

"The Russian government must reverse the course that it appears to be on...," he added, urging Russia to agree to a ceasefire offer by Georgia.

Moscow has snubbed Western pleas for a ceasefire and accused Georgia of not keeping a promise to halt fighting, which erupted on Thursday when Georgia sent forces to retake South Ossetia, a region that threw off Georgian rule in the 1990s and declared itself independent, albeit without international recognition.

It said Tbilisi continued to shell the Russian-held region of South Ossetia where the conflict began last Thursday.

Georgia hosts a key pipeline supplying the West and the fighting has unsettled oil markets. It has alarmed investors in Russia and has raised fears of a wider conflagration in the volatile region bordering Iran, Turkey and Russia.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, taking a leading role in the crisis, attacked Washington for helping Georgia fly home troops from Iraq and said the West was mistaking the aggressors for victims in the conflict.

"The Cold War has long ended but the mentality of the Cold War has stayed firmly in the minds of several U.S. diplomats. It is a real shame," Putin said.

Georgia earlier pulled its battered forces back to the capital and appealed for international intervention.

A feeling of uneasiness pervaded Tbilisi as for the first time in four nights, city streets were largely empty, with no evening demonstration by the president's supporters.

"The Georgian army is retreating to defend the capital. The government is urgently seeking international intervention to prevent the fall of Georgia," a Georgian statement said.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said Russian forces had taken control of Georgia's main east-west route, effectively bisecting the country. He urged Georgians to stay home and not panic.

"We are working with an international community, but all we got so far are just words, statements, moral support, humanitarian aid," Saakashvili said in a televised address. "But we need more -- we want them to stop this barbaric aggressor."

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was expected in Moscow and possibly Georgia on Tuesday for talks on behalf of the European Union, although it was unclear what could be achieved.

Five liberal leaders from central and eastern Europe -- Poland, Ukraine and the three Baltic states -- planned to visit Tbilisi in a show or support for Saakashvili.