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US calls for ceasefire in Georgia

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-09 01:43

WASHINGTON - The United States called on Friday for ceasefire in breakaway province of South Ossetia, Georgia, and for territorial integrity of the country.

"We support Georgia's territorial integrity and call for an immediate cease-fire. We urge all parties, including Georgians, South Ossetians and Russians to de-escalate and avoid conflict," State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos told reporters.

Related readings:  Russian jets drop bombs on Georgia  Georgian President says 'Russia fighting war'

Washington is sending an envoy to the region "to engage with the parties in the conflict," according to the spokesman.

Prior to the statement by the State Department, Lieutenant Colonel John Dorrian, a spokesman for the US European Command, told local mass media that US military trainers in Georgia are not involved in the escalating conflicts between Russian and Georgian forces in breakaway South Ossetia.

More than 100 American military personnel are in Georgia doing training job, according to Dorrian.

The conflict between Georgia and its rebel region South Ossetia worsened on August 1-2, when South Ossetian authorities accused Georgian forces of shelling Tskhinvali. Six people dead and 15 injured in the shelling.

South Ossetia, along with another breakaway republic Abkhazia, broke away from Georgia in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. But their self-proclaimed independence has not been internationally recognized.

The United States pledged to support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia, stressing "no state should be taking actions that would violate that."