Paris  - President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, which currently chairs the European Union, was expected to fly to Moscow and then to Tbilisi Tuesday to mediate the crisis over Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia, Elysee Palace said.

Sarkozy spoke by telephone with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev twice Monday. He also spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian President Silvio Berlusconi about his goal of reaching a ceasefire between Russia and Georgia.

Moscow, Aug 12 : With Russian Army moving into Abkhazia, another breakaway region of Georgia, in an apparent attempt to broaden the conflict over South Ossetia, French President Nicolas Sarkozy will arrive here to undertake a peace plan.

Sarkozy will meet his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in Kremlin to discuss a French peace plan that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili signed on Monday as Russian troops moved further into Georgia and casualties mounted outside the breakaway regions that sparked the war.

Washington/Tbilisi - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili remained defiant late Monday in the face of Russian attacks into Georgia and accused Moscow of committing "ethnic cleansing" in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia.

The conflict with Russia broke out last week in the Georgian separatist province of South Ossetia but quickly widened to include both Abkhazia and undisputed Georgian territory.

In an interview by telephone with US broadcaster CNN, Saakashvili said that the "biggest action" was currently in Abkhazia, where he alleged that ethnic Georgians were being forced out by Russian forces.

"I directly accuse Russia of ethnic cleansing," he said.

Washington - Russia's military offensive is designed to oust Georgia's democratically-elected government and intimidate other former Soviet states seeking closer ties to the West, Republican presidential hopeful John McCain said Monday.

"This pattern of attack appears aimed not at restoring any status quo ante in South Ossetia, but rather at toppling the democratically- elected government of Georgia," McCain told reporters on the campaign trail in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Helsinki - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Finnish President Tarja Halonen on Monday discussed the situation in the breakaway region of South Ossetia in Georgia, the Finnish president's office said.

Halonen expressed concern for the situation and called for an immediate end to the fighting saying "there was no military solution" and that humanitarian relief should be channelled to the civilian population, according to a statement issued by the president's office.

The Finnish president backed recent calls for troops to be withdrawn to the positions held before fighting broke out last week.

Strasbourg - The Council of Europe on Monday called for free access by aid organizations to the conflict zones of Georgia, while offering its help in seeking a solution to the conflict between Georgia and Russia.

"I urge once again all parties to immediately enter into a ceasefire," said Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the 47-nation Council of Europe, prior to his departure to Georgia along with council Secretary General Terry Davis as part of diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis.