US Vice President Cheney in Tbilisi to offer support (1st Lead)

Sep 4, 2008, 9:16 GMT

Tbilisi/ Moscow - US Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in the capital of Georgia on Thursday in a show of support for the pro- Western government after Russian troops pushed into the former Soviet state in a brief war over its separatist regions.

'I bring a message of friendship from the people of the United States ... from a firm ally President George W Bush,' Cheney said at joint press conference with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.

He praised Saakshvili for his 'fearless response to Russia's occupation' and affirmed Georgia had a 'faithful and sturdy partner in America.'

Cheney is the highest ranking US official to visit Georgia since the fighting in mid-August, and his visit wais timed to coincide with Washington's announcement that it was boosting aid by 1 billion dollars to the former Soviet republic.

The US vice president is a vocal critic of the Kremlin and his visit was sure to raise hackles in Moscow, which charges that Washington baited US-educated Saakashvili to initiate the five-day conflict.

In language reminiscent of the Cold War, Cheney denounced Russia's attempts to 'change by force' the territorial boundaries of Georgia, saying, 'It is the responsibility of the free world to rally on the side of Georgia.'

It is Cheney's first-ever visit to Georgia and the second day of a tour that saw him in Azerbaijan on Wednesday and flying to Ukraine for talks Friday.

The trip marks US interests in East European and Caucasus states that host alternative energy pipelines to Europe bypassing Russia.