London, Aug. 14 : Russia continues to challenge the United States, and especially President George W Bush to "choose" between Washington''s relationship with Georgia and its future ties with Moscow.

The challenge was mounted as Russian troops in about 70 military vehicles left Gori and headed towards Georgian capital Tbilisi, located 50 miles away.

In appeared to be a calculated defiance of the US and the European Union, which mediated a ceasefire deal 24 hours earlier, reports The Telegraph.

It maybe recalled that Bush had warned that the Russian advance could damage ties between the two countries, and demanded that Moscow "keep its word" over the ceasefire.

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.

Washington, Aug. 13 : The conflict between Russia and Georgia has refocused attention on the increasingly hard line that Senator John McCain has taken against Russia in recent years, reports the New York Times.

According to the paper, McCain has called for expelling what he has called a “revanchist Russia” from meetings of the Group of Eight, the organization of leading industrialized nations.

He had also urged President Bush to boycott the group’s meeting in St. Petersburg in 2006, but in vain.

Amsterdam - Georgia has instituted proceedings against Russia before the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, the ICJ said in a statement Wednesday.

Georgia is suing the Russian Federation over what it calls "its actions on and around the territory of Georgia" in breach of the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

In its application, Georgia "also seeks to ensure that the individual rights" under the convention "of all persons on the territory of Georgia are fully respected and protected."

Brussels - The European Union's foreign ministers were Wednesday seeking to find a united response to Georgia's conflict with Russia at an extraordinary meeting in Brussels.

The ministers were due to be briefed by their colleague Bernard Kouchner, who has just toured the region on behalf of the French presidency of the bloc, about his country's efforts to broker a ceasefire.

On Tuesday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev declared an end to Russian military operations in its neighbouring country. The announcement coincided with a visit to Moscow by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who put forward a six-phase plan for stabilizing the region.

London, Aug. 13: The United States has cancelled a joint naval exercise with Russia after U. S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Moscow that it's attacks on Georgia have jeopardised its integration into international institutions.

The cancellation of the military exercise, set for next week, is the first concrete disapproval from Washington over Russia's military operations in Georgia and South Ossetia.

"I can assure you that Russia's international reputation and what role Russia can play in the international community is very much at stake here," The Times quoted Rice, as saying.