BRITAIN joined a diplomatic mission to Georgia last night to try to broker peace talks and call for a ceasefire.

America also launched diplomatic initiatives to end the war in South Ossetia but US officials privately indicated that the West had been surprised by Russia’s aggression and had few options for intervention.

David Miliband, the foreign secretary, described the fighting as “dangerously destabilising”. He added his voice to calls for a cessation of violence and urged both sides to hold peace talks.

A combined European Union, American and Nato mission was being sent to Georgia last night with Sir Brian Fall, Britain’s representative for the south Caucasus, as part of the team. Matthew Bryza, deputy assistant secretary of state, has also been dispatched as America’s special envoy but officials acknowledge that its options are limited.

The outbreak of fighting poses a headache for President George Bush, who has been attempting to modify his warrior image with peace initiatives in the Middle East and elsewhere.

No one in Washington appears to have been paying sufficient attention to the Caucasus where Russian and Georgian forces have long been opposed in a stand-off.

The Pentagon has up to 200 military trainers in Georgia, which is now a close ally with troops in Iraq. But Bush has also been seeking Russian support for his efforts to halt Iran’s nuclear programme.

Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, urged Russia to “cease attacks on Georgia by aircraft and missiles, respect Georgia’s territorial integrity and withdraw its ground combat forces from Georgian soil”.

“I’m deeply concerned about the situation in Georgia,” Bush said, calling for a halt to the violence.

Miliband, who is on holiday, said he was holding consultations with Rice and European foreign ministers. However, diplomatic analysts said the United States and Europe have little leverage in Moscow.

Bush has described Georgia as a “beacon of freedom” but Russia has been angered by its attempts to join Nato and appears to have seized on the South Ossetia dispute as a means of warning the West away from former Soviet territories.

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