Condolezza Rice: Secretary of State

Keep in mind that this woman's specialty is Russian affairs:

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking after telephone consultations with big-power foreign ministers, said there has been progress in European mediation efforts on the Russia-Georgia conflict. Rice said Moscow must abide by its stated promise to halt military operations. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Rice is welcoming the apparent progress in the French-led mediation effort with Russia and Georgia but says further steps to defuse the crisis depend on the warring parties making good on their stated intention to cease hostilities.

Rice, speaking at the White House after meeting President Bush, said she and fellow foreign ministers of the G7 Industrial powers had been given a telephone briefing from French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on the mission to Moscow by French President Nikolas Sarkozy."

They believe that they made have made some progress and we welcome that, we welcome the EU mediation," she said. "It is very important now that all parties cease-fire. The Georgians have agreed to the cease-fire. The Russians need to stop their military operations, as they apparently have said that they will. But those military operations really do now need to stop."Rice said a cease-fire would be followed by the withdrawal of forces from the zone of conflict, and efforts to resolve the long-running conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but not, she made clear, by redrawing the current borders of Georgia.

That was yesterday. Today:

A column of Russian armor and troops moved deeper into Georgian territory on Wednesday in apparent violation of a new cease-fire agreement, according to Georgian officials and eyewitnesses who said the Russian equipment was moving toward the Georgian capital then turned north.

A Western news photographer counted approximately 100 tanks, personnel carriers and other vehicles traveling east from the central Georgian city of Gori toward Tbilisi. They were approximately 12 miles outside of town at the time, with Russian troops waving and appearing "jovial" as they passed, the photographer reported. It is approximately 50 miles between the two cities.

The deep foray into Georgian territory caused a flurry of confusion a day after Russia signed a French-backed peace plan meant to end Moscow's 5-day incursion into the tiny neighboring country.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, appearing on CNN, said the Russians were planning to encircle Tbilisi and "murder" Georgia's fledgling democracy. Georgia's deputy interior minister, however, said at roughly the same time that the Russians were not heading toward the capital.

"I'd like to calm everybody down," deputy minister Ekaterine Zguladze said from Tbilisi, the Reuters wire service reported. "The Russian military is not advancing toward the capital."

Sounds like Georgia is a little confused. Also sounds like Rice spoke prematurely.