Tbilisi, Georgia - The Russian army on Thursday announced plans to hand over control of the central Georgian city of Gori to the Georgian police in a step away from escalation of the South Ossetia conflict.

Russian troops were moving north Thursday morning and the handover would take place Friday, Russian General Viacheslav Borisov said, according to a report from Russia's Interfax news agency.

Borisov made the announcement after late-night meetings in Gori with Georgia's national security minister, Aleksander Lomaia.

Borisov's troops, acting on apparent Kremlin orders, broke a ceasefire Wednesday, advancing from South Ossetia, a separatist region in north-central Georgia, past Gori to destroy Georgian military installations.

Washington announced it would send US Air Force and Navy elements to Georgia to deliver "humanitarian aid."

Russian media has routinely called the infantry and armored personnel carrier spearheads "peacekeepers." (dpa)