John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, on Monday upstaged George W. Bush’s administration over the Georgia crisis with his strongest statement so far calling on the US and its allies to come together in “universal condemnation of Russian aggression”.

Mr McCain, who gave his first response early last Friday several hours before any official word from the Bush administration, said the US should take steps to assist Georgia and other democracies in the region that he said were threatened by Russia’s actions.

....“Russia’s aggression against Georgia is both a matter of urgent moral and strategic importance to the United States,” said Mr McCain. “The implications go beyond their threat to . . . a democratic Georgia. Russia is using violence against Georgia, in part, to intimidate other neighbours such as Ukraine, for choosing to associate with the west.”

....“What is interesting about the US response is that you have the McCain campaign in one corner immediately understanding the significance of Russia’s aggression and in the opposite corner you have the Bush administration standing with the Obama campaign taking a much more diluted stance,” said John Bolton, the former Bush administration ambassador to the United Nations. ....

....Mr McCain’s response, which included recommended policy actions for the administration, has also enabled his campaign to restate its support for a “league of democracies”, which would exclude Russia and include countries such as Georgia. Mr McCain pointed out at the weekend that Russia’s membership of the United Nations Security Council had prevented that body from taking any “meaningful action”. ....