Moscow/Tbilisi - The political players in the recently halted Ossetia war on Wednesday were scrambling for tactical advantages in ongoing ceasefire talks.

The de facto ceasefire held over its first night, with no violations reported by either side. Fighting in the six-day conflict ended shortly after midday Tuesday. Aside from Georgian reports of a pair of Russian airstrikes after that time, combat appeared halted throughout the region.

In Washington, President George W Bush's administration was contemplating ways to punish Russia for the military assault on the pro-Western Georgian government led by President Mikheil Saakashvili, and was focusing on ways to get humanitarian aid to the Georgian population.

Vilnius - Standing by in Georgia would mean following the scenario that allowed Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler to conquer Europe, Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus said on Tuesday.

"We cannot allow a second Munich," Adamkus said, referring to the Munich Conference in 1938 when France, Great Britain and Italy permitted annexation of part of Czechoslovakia.

"Then, countries appeased Hitler and it led to World War II, to a colossal tragedy and millions of lost human lives," he told Lithuanian radio.

Amsterdam  - A Dutch cameraman has been killed in Georgia, Dutch news agency ANP reported Tuesday citing foreign media sources.

Washington, Aug. 12 : Calling Russia’s actions in Georgia "unacceptable", U. S. President George Bush has warned Moscow that it is in danger of jeopardizing its relations with Washington.

The warning came as fighting continues to rage in South Ossetia and Russia rejecting Georgia''s latest ceasefire proposal.

Stockholm  - Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt on Tuesday said the situation in Georgia was "serious," the day after he arrived in the country.

Russia has with "ground forces and quite extensive airstrikes completely destroyed what there was of Georgian defences, radar stations, communications, army bases," Bildt told Swedish radio news in Tbilisi.

The attacks had also caused "major damage" to the Georgian economy, he added.

Moscow/Tbilisi  - Russia military forces turned up the pressure on their Georgian opponents on Tuesday as international diplomats scrambled to bring a ceasefire to the widening war in Ossetia.

The sharpest combat as of Tuesday morning was in the Kodori Gorge in Georgia's west, where Abkhazia infantry and armour began an attack on Georgian defences, according to a Georgian government report.