TBILISI, Georgia - A reluctant Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said Friday he signed a cease-fire agreement with Russia and declared in the presence of the chief U.S. diplomat that the West behaved in ways that invited the invasion.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she had been assured that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will sign an identical document. The United States says the pact protects the former Soviet republic's interests despite concessions to Moscow.
"With this signature by Georgia, this must take place and take place now," Rice said. She did not say what, if anything, the United States would do if Russia defies the truce.
An emotional Saakashvili said he will "never, ever surrender" in the showdown with much-larger Russia.
"You are dealing with a people who despise anyting human," Saakashvili said of invading Russian forces.
Saakashvili said the West sent a disastrous signal to Russia by denying Georgia a door to NATO membership.
Saakashvili, whose leadership is founded on a close alliance with Washington that has always aggravated Moscow, said that Russia had interpreted NATO's snub of Georgia as capitulation. He spoke hours after President Bush accused Russia of "bullying and intimidation" against Georgia. Bush, delivering a formal statement outside the Oval Office at the White House, said the people there chose freedom and "we will not cast them aside."
Saakashvili did not appear enthusiastic about the cease-fire pact, but Rice defended it as a good way to return all forces to their prewar positions. She said that the signed pact obligates Russia to withdraw forces from Georgia immediately.
"Georgia has been attacked," and the world must help ensure that the country's independence and borders remain intact, she said following nearly five hours of meetings with Saakashvili. Their joint news conference was delayed by more than 90 minutes, a sign that the talks were difficult.
"This is not a done deal," Saakashvili said. "We need to do our utmost to deter such behavior in the future."
At one point, the beleaguered Georgian leader said: "Sorry for these emotions. But I feel emotion."
Rice said the time has come "to begin a discussion of the consequences of what Russia has done. This calls into question what role Russia really plans to play in international politics."
Bush, preparing to travel to his Texas ranch earlier Friday, said that while away from Washington, he'll keep in close touch with Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
"Bullying and intimidation are not acceptable ways to conduct foreign policy in the 21st century," Bush said. He reiterated Gates' assertion of Thursday that Moscow's behavior in Georgia has damaged its relationship with Washington and its Western allies.
Rice had said earlier that the immediate goal was to get Russian combat forces out of Georgia and more difficult questions about the status of the country's separatist regions and Russia's presence there could be addressed later.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Friday that 82 tons of humanitarian supplies have been delivered to Georgia so far in four aircraft flights. He said the U.S. military is planning to do another two flights each day through the weekend.
There are still roughly 100 U.S. military personnel in Georgia