McCain supports Georgia
Obama urges Russian action on cease-fire
YORK, Pa. - Republican John McCain yesterday phoned Georgia's president to tell him that Americans are supporting his "brave little nation" against Russia's military attacks - and blasted Russian leader Vladimir Putin, whom he accused of wanting to restore the czarist empire.
McCain told more than 2,000 voters that he spoke with President Mikhail Saakashvili of Georgia, who offered his "heartfelt thanks" for US support.
"And I told him that I know I speak for every American when I say to him, 'Today, we are all Georgians,' " McCain declared to loud applause.
At a huge outdoor rally hours later in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, Saakashvili mentioned what McCain had said, and the crowd applauded.
Even as Russia said it was halting its offensive, McCain told voters in York that Moscow is using "violence against Georgia to send a signal" to "any country that chooses to associate with the West." Russian leaders, he said, must realize they risk "the benefits they enjoy from being part of the civilized world."
In a radio interview earlier yesterday, McCain was even more scathing about Putin, the former Russian president who is now prime minister and who the Arizona senator said is "still by far the most powerful and influential person in Russia."
"Of course we have to deal with Russia and we deal with Putin," McCain told WITF radio in Harrisburg, Pa. "But it has to be on a very realistic basis. And not one that there's any illusions about his ambitions. I think it's very clear that Russian ambitions are to restore the old Russian Empire. Not the Soviet Union, but the Russian Empire."
Both McCain and his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, have called for a multi-pronged diplomatic approach to pressure Russia to withdraw from Georgia, a former republic of the Soviet Union.
Obama said in a statement yesterday: "Now is the time for action, not just words. It is past time for the Russian government to immediately sign and implement a cease-fire. Russia must halt its violation of Georgian airspace and withdraw its ground forces from Georgia, with international monitors to verify that these obligations are met." 