KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - Vice President Dick Cheney insisted that Georgia will join NATO and backed its attempts to rebuild from its war with Russia on Thursday, using a trip to former Soviet republics as a show of U.S. support for their pro-Western leaders.Cheney flew to Kiev from Georgia, where he denounced Russia's "illegitimate, unilateral attempt" to redraw the U.S. ally's borders by force. "Georgia will be in our alliance," Cheney told reporters while standing alongside Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, whose pro-Western government has sought to join NATO despite Russian opposition.
Speaking in Moscow, Konstantin Kosachyov, head of foreign affairs committee in the Kremlin-controlled lower house, accused Cheney of trying to forge an "anti-Russian axis." "It's Cheney who was behind all recent events on the former Soviet turf," Kosachyov said in televised remarks.
The vice president's trip was intended as a signal that the U.S. will continue cultivating close ties with Georgia and its neighbors even after Russia showed it was willing to use military force against countries along its border. "America will do its duty to work with the governments of Georgia and our other friends and allies to protect our common interests and to uphold our values," Cheney said.
"Russia's actions have cast grave doubts on Russia's intentions and on its reliability as an international partner," Cheney added.
On the eve of his arrival, the White House announced a $1 billion commitment to help the small, strategically located nation recover from its war with Russia. Saakashvili said Georgia was grateful for the aid, which matched his government's estimate of war damages: "Together with our other partners, in Europe, America and elsewhere, we will rebuild Georgia. We feel that we are not alone."
The United States is at Georgia's side, Cheney said, "as you work to overcome an invasion of your sovereign territory and an illegitimate, unilateral attempt to change your country's borders by force, that has been universally condemned by the free world."