The US secretary of state has warned Russia that it risks isolation abroad if it does not observe a ceasefire with Georgia and withdraw its troops.



Condoleezza Rice is to visit France for talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy, who currently chairs the EU, before visiting Georgia itself tomorrow.



The US has begun delivering aid by air to the ex-Soviet republic.



Russian forces briefly moved out of the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia on Wednesday, to destroy military hardware at an abandoned Georgian military base in the nearby town of Gori.



Thousands of Russian troops remain in South Ossetia since they drove out a Georgian force, which tried to regain control of the de facto independent province in a surprise attack one week ago.