Cheney dubs Georgia ally, Russia "unreliable" available (2nd Roundup)

Sep 4, 2008, 14:14 GMT

Tbilisi/Kiev/Moscow - US Vice President Dick Cheney vowed US allegiance to Georgia on Thursday in the face of Russia's military push into the former Soviet state.

Russia's move called into question its reliability as a partner, he said.

'I bring greetings from Georgia's friend and ally, President George W Bush ... in America. (The Georgian people) have a sturdy and faithful friend,' Cheney said at a press conference in the capital of Tbilisi.

Standing side by side with President Mikheil Saakashvili and flanked by Georgian flags, Cheney voiced respect for Saakashvili's 'fearless response to Russia's occupation.'

Cheney pledged US aid, 'as you work to overcome an invasion of your sovereign territory and an illegitimate, unilateral attempt to change your country's borders by force that has been universally condemned by the world.'

The uncompromising declaration of support for Saakashvili, who aims to bring his country closer to the West and into NATO, marks a further deterioration in relations with Moscow, whose powerful premier, Vladimir Putin, accused Washington of baiting Georgia to start the conflict.

A vocal critic of the Kremlin, Cheney said 'Russia's actions cast grave doubt on Russia's intentions and on its reliability as an international partner - not just in Georgia but across this region and, indeed, throughout the international system.'

Cheney is the highest ranking US official to travel to Georgia since the five days of intense fighting last month. His visit was 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 was on his first visit to Georgia and also held talks Wednesday in oil-rich Azerbaijan.

He flew to Ukraine later Thursday as part of a tour that underscored US interests in securing energy pipelines for oil from the Caspian Sea that cut out Russian intermediaries.

Cheney's speech emphasized US promotion of democracy in the region, evoking a huge rally of 'more than one hundred thousand' in support for the 'democratically-elected government.'

Here, he was interrupted by Saakashvili, who corrected 'actually 1.5 million.'

'We feel that we are not alone. We feel that a great community of nations from the European Union, the United States, Japan, other responsible nations, China, are standing by Georgia,' Saakashvili said earlier, welcoming Cheney.

Amid mounting military tensions with three US warships in the Black Sea to deliver aid to Georgia, Russia has warned the US against extending aid to rearming the Caucasus state's army.

Russia's military brass lashed out over the build-up of warships in the Black Sea, and Putin warned this week that Russia would react if more NATO naval vessels move up the Bosphorus.

Russia and NATO, in a tit-for-tat response to the conflict, froze relations last week.

The alliance also strengthened ties with Georgia in a step toward eventual membership, which Moscow vehemently opposes and which analysts say was a key spark to the recent conflict.

On Thursday, Cheney repeated his president's desire that Georgia be made an alliance member, calling it a goal to which 'America is fully committed.'

'Georgia will be in our alliance. NATO is a defensive alliance. It is a threat to no one. Indeed, NATO is one of the great forces for freedom, security and peace that the modern world has known,' Cheney told journalist in Tbilisi.

Cheney was due to hold talks Friday in Ukraine in a move that reiterates US support for the ex-Soviet state to also join NATO, which would bring the alliance flush with Russia's borders.

Russia claims it was compelled to send its army into Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia to halt an attack by Tbilisi on its peacekeepers and a genocide of the people.

But Moscow's subsequent move to recognize the independence of South Ossetia and the other rebel region of Abkhazia was roundly criticized by the West and deepened Russia's isolation after the crisis.

The US Vice President flew to the Ukrainian capital Kiev in the afternoon. He was scheduled to meet with President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Friday.

Yushchenko supports early Ukrainian membership in NATO, while Tymoshenko favours Kiev's striking a middle line between Brussels and Moscow.