Riga  - Thousands of people participated in peaceful protests in support of Georgia in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on Monday.

In the Latvian capital Riga more than 1,000 people rallied, waving Georgian and Latvian flags and carrying white roses.

Demonstrators walked from the landmark Freedom Monument to the Russian embassy. There, yelling "aggressors" and "occupiers," they called on Russia to halt its military action in the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia.

The group also proceeded to the Georgian embassy, where people cheered and shouted slogans supporting Georgia.

Lawmaker Sandra Kalniete from the opposition Civic Union said she was glad to see so many people turn up, seeing it as a sign that "we have not forgotten anything" about 1991 events in Latvia.

"Today, it's Georgia, tomorrow it's Ukraine, the day after tomorrow it's Latvia," a woman named Iveta told Deutsche Presse- Agentur dpa.

In Tallinn, more than 300 people peacefully gathered in the Estonian capital carrying Georgian flags. Estonia's parliament was to meet Monday for an extraordinary session to condemn Russian military action in Georgia.

More than 50 people protested outside the Russian embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, with more protests expected late Monday and Tuesday.

Like Georgia, the three Baltic states broke free from the former Soviet Union in 1991, defying a possible invasion by Soviet forces. (dpa)