Russia's military
offensive is designed to oust Georgia's democratically-elected government and
intimidate other former Soviet states seeking closer ties to the West,
Republican presidential hopeful John McCain said Monday.
"This pattern of attack appears aimed not at restoring any status quo ante
in South Ossetia, but rather at toppling the democratically- elected government
of Georgia," McCain told reporters on the campaign trail in Erie,
Pennsylvania, reported dpa.
The conflict that began last week escalated on Monday,
as Russian troops in Georgian territory seized a military base outside the
breakaway region of South Ossetia.
The Georgian military entered South Ossetia last week to reclaim control over
the territory, prompting a swift military response from Russia, which sent troops into South Ossetia to counter the Georgian offensive.
Georgia has called for a ceasefire, but Russia has continued the assault with
a series of attacks on Georgian soil and was reportedly preparing a second
offensive in another separatist region, Abkhazia.
"That makes Russia's recent actions against the Georgians all the more
alarming," McCain said. "In the face of Russian aggression, the very
existence of independent Georgia and the survival of its democratically-elected
government are at stake."
McCain, 71, read the statement to reporters, trying to show he is vastly more
experienced on foreign policy issues than his Democratic rival Barack Obama,
who also weighed in on the conflict by calling on both sides to show restraint.
President George W Bush, attending the Olympics in Beijing, said he had spoken
with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and
told them the violence was "unacceptable."
"And, look, I expressed my grave concern about the disproportionate
response of Russia and that we strongly condemn bombing outside of South
Ossetia," Bush told NBC television, a US network.
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