U.S. VP Arrives in Georgia in Show of Support

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U.S. Sends One Billion Dollars in Aid to Georgia

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in Tbilisi on Thursday for talks with the Georgian leadership to extend U.S. support for the Caucasus nation in the wake of its recent conflict with Russia over a breakaway Georgian region.

On the highest level visit by a U.S. official, Cheney will be "assessing with President (Mikheil) Saakashvili and his team the aftermath and implications of this crisis," said a senior U.S. official last week.

The two leaders "will also look beyond the immediate situation and discuss in depth the need for a comprehensive long-term strategy by the international community to help Georgia recover and rebuild," the U.S. official said.

Cheney arrived in Tbilisi from Baku, capital of the Caspian Sea nation of Azerbaijan, the first leg of his four-nation tour that also includes stops in Ukraine and Italy.

His visit comes on the heels of a White House announcement of a 1-billion-U.S.-dollar aid package to Tbilisi to "meet Georgia's humanitarian needs and to support its economic recovery."

The assistance "will help the people of Georgia recover from the assault on their country, and continue to build a prosperous and competitive economy," U.S. President George W. Bush said in a statement on Wednesday.

More than half of the funds will be made available in the near term, Bush said.

Prior to the new aid package, the United States has provided nearly 30 million dollars in aid to Georgia since the conflict erupted, including 1,200 tons of food and other relief supplies, according to the White House.

The conflict began early last month when Tbilisi sent in troops to reclaim South Ossetia, a breakaway region of Georgia.

Russia quickly mounted a counter-offensive by rolling in its forces to drive out the Georgian troops. The fighting ended with a ceasefire agreement brokered by France.

The West accused Russia of bullying its small neighbor, but Moscow argued its military operations were intended to protect civilians and enforce peace in the region.

Russia's recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another breakaway region of Georgia, as independent states last week further tightened the tensions in the region.