Bush criticizes Moscow's actions in Georgia

By David Alexander and Oleg Shchedrov

TBILISI/SOCHI (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush denounced Moscow's actions in Georgia as unacceptable on Friday while Russian troops made their deepest incursion into Georgian territory since the conflict began last week.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said he had signed a ceasefire agreement, negotiated by France on behalf of the European Union, but Russia said it would not comment until it had seen his signature on the document.

"The time for conversations has passed. The time for concrete action has come," Russian news agency Interfax quoted an unidentified, high-ranking source in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying.

About 17 armored personnel carriers and about 200 soldiers advanced to a village 45 km (30 miles) from Tbilisi, the deepest drive into Georgian territory since fighting began in Georgia's breakaway region South Ossetia on Thursday.

The vehicles traveled unimpeded by Georgian police and army stationed along the road. A Reuters correspondent saw a military ambulance, snipers and rocket-propelled grenades.

Saakashvili said tanks also advanced on another two towns -- Khashari and Borjomi -- in central Georgia, but that could not be independently verified.

A reason for the presence of Russian armor maneuvering inside Georgia in either case was not immediately clear.

ALARM

Bush said: "The world has watched with alarm as Russia invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatened a democratic government elected by its people.

"This act is completely unacceptable to the free nations of the world," Bush said in his weekly Saturday radio address, which the White House released on Friday.

The United States earlier demanded Russian troops end their occupation of Georgia immediately after Georgia signed the ceasefire agreement.

Speaking alongside Saakashvili in Tbilisi, visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice evoked the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia 40 years ago: "Russian forces need to leave Georgia at once. This is no longer 1968."

Saakashvili met with Rice for five hours.

Saakashvili, in passionate remarks, denounced Russians as "21st century barbarians" and blamed the West for triggering the crisis by failing to react firmly to Moscow's previous military moves and not admitting Georgia to NATO fast enough.

"Who invited the trouble here?" he said, flanked by several large Georgian and U.S. flags. "Not only those people who perpetrated this, but those who failed to stop it."