George Bush, the United States president, has said he is sending US military aircraft and naval forces with humanitarian supplies to Georgia.

Speaking from the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington on Wednesday, Bush said: “Russia must keep its word and act to end this crisis.”

He said: “The United States of America stands with the democratically- elected government of Georgia, [and] insists that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia be respected.”

He also said he was sending Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, to Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, to show his support for the Georgian government.

Flanked by Rice and Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, Bush warned Moscow against breaking its pledge to halt its military action and announced that a US humanitarian aid flight was already on its way to Georgia.

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