US President George W. Bush said Thursday that Russia should honor a cease-fire with Georgia and Georgia's territorial integrity should be respected.
"My call, of course, is for the territorial integrity of Georgia to be respected and for the cease-fire agreement to be honored," Bush said after visiting CIA headquarters in Virginia.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who has been visiting France and Georgia to help end the crisis, is to come back on Saturday to brief him, Bush said.
"She'll be coming back to brief me Saturday. I'm looking forward to hearing firsthand what she has seen, what she has heard, " Bush said.
Bush announced Wednesday to send Rice to France to help the diplomatic efforts, and then to Georgia to show US solidarity with the country.
Russia declared a halt to its military offensive in Georgia on Tuesday after days of conflicts with Georgia in its breakaway South Ossetia area. The United States has welcomed the Russian move and urged Russia to end the crisis and respect Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Georgia's pro-Western government has been a strong US ally.
(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2008)
