Bush: Russia May Be Seeking to Topple Georgian Government

U.S. President George Bush says Russia may be seeking to depose the Georgian government.

Speaking at the White House Monday, Mr. Bush said such a move against a democratically elected government is unacceptable.

The president said he has also seen reports that Russia may be preparing to bomb the civilian airport of the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.

Mr. Bush said Georgia has already accepted a peace deal, adding Russia must be true to its word that it is willing to talk peace. The president demanded Russia reverse course and pull back its troops.

Russian tanks rolled into western Georgia Monday, seizing a Georgian military base near the breakaway region of Abkhazia and opening a second front.

Fighting has raged in the second breakaway region, South Ossetia, since Friday.

Both Russian and Georgian officials deny that Russia has taken over the strategic city of Gori. But thousands of civilians have fled, fearing Russia is ready to overrun the city.

South Ossetia and Abkhazia are two pro-Russian Georgian regions that declared independence in the early 1990s.

Large-scale fighting erupted last week when Russian forces invaded South Ossetia in response to a Georgian military operation against separatists. Russia sent thousands of troops into the region and took over the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali.

The U.S. State Department says it has evacuated more than 170 U.S. citizens from Georgia, as well as dependents of embassy staff in Tbilisi, as Georgia's conflict with Russia intensifies.

Georgia says 150 people have been killed in the fighting. Russia says the death toll is at least 1,500.