Cheney threatens Russia over Georgia

US Vice President Dick Cheney

US Vice President Dick Cheney has threatened Russia after the country was forced to reply Georgia's attack on South Ossetia's region.

In a phone conversation with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Sunday, Cheney said Russia's military actions in Georgia 'must not go unanswered'.

Continuation of Russian attack 'would have serious consequences for its relations with the United States, as well as the broader international community,' Cheney's press secretary, Lee Ann McBride, quoted him as telling Saakashvili.

"The vice president expressed the United States' solidarity with the Georgian people and their democratically elected government in the face of this threat to Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity," McBride said.

Earlier, Chairman of Russia's State Duma Security Committee Vladimir Vasilyev announced that US helped Georgia start military operation in South Ossetia.

"The further the situation unfolds, the more the world will understand that Georgia would never be able to do all this without America," said Vasilyev.

Georgian military forces launched a large-scale military offensive against South Ossetia on Thursday evening hours before the start of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Russia, in response, moved its forces to the region.

The conflict has left at least 2000 people dead.

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