Geneva - The international Red Cross (ICRC) said Wednesday that after two days' waiting, its aid workers had now gained access to South Ossetia and were proceeding to the provincial capital Tskhinvali.

The ICRC also said that its president, Jakob Kellenberger, during a three-day trip to the crisis region, had been able to hold talks with both Georgian and Russian officials, during which he had pressed for Red Cross workers being given unhindered access.

Moscow - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday accused the West of spreading "total disinformation" in an effort to isolate Russia after its conflict with Georgia, and pledged to expand military ties with Moscow.

"On this question, we fully support Russia ... Georgia started this crisis, but the West is blaming Russia," al-Assad said in an interview with the business newspaper Kommersant ahead of his arrival in Moscow for two-days of meetings Wednesday.

Al-Assad said the west was guilty of "total disinformation and distortion of facts" during the 10-day clash of Georgian and Russian forces over the separatist region of South Ossetia.

Tbilisi - Russia's army on Wednesday continued its occupation of two enclaves in Georgia as Kremlin officials claimed they would accelerate what they said was an already in-progress withdrawal.

Russian troops were operating road checkpoints throughout Georgia's Gori region, allowing civilian traffic to pass after inspection but blocking official Georgian vehicles.

Russian naval infantry held Georgia's Black Sea port of Poti under firm control as well as the key road hub Senaki, 30 kilometres inland.

New York  - The United Nations was on Tuesday seeking 58.6 million dollars from the international community to help an estimated 130,000 Georgians affected by the conflict that erupted between Russia and Georgia on August 7.

The amount sought would cover six months of humanitarian programmes to be carried out by UN relief agencies and non- governmental organizations.

Brussels - The European Union wants to see Russian troops move out of Georgia "today," Javier Solana, the bloc's foreign policy chief, said in Brussels on Tuesday.

"Some troops are beginning to move ... and I hope very much that within the day, the troops will begin seriously to withdraw," said Solana.

The EU high representative was speaking as NATO ministers met at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels and ahead of talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.

Tbilisi/Geneva  - Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees arrived in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Tuesday to begin a four-day mission to Georgia and the Russian Federation to assess the humanitarian situation in the region.