Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in the middle of a war zone in Georgia, trying to negotiate a cease-fire agreement between the former Soviet Republic and Moscow.

Rice is trying to convince Georgia that the proposed cease-fire protects the new country’s interests, despite concessions to the former Russian motherland.

Earlier, on her way to Tbilisi with the document, Rice said the immediate goal is to get Russian combat forces out of Georgia. Officials can deal with harder questions about the status of the country’s separatist regions and Russia’s presence later.

"The United States would never ask Georgia to sign onto something where its interests were not protected," she told reporters aboard her plane to Georgia from France, where she met French President Nicolas Sarkozy who brokered the cease-fire, reports The Washington Post.

"This is not an agreement about the future of Abkhazia and the future of South Ossetia," Rice said, referring to the two separatist areas where the most violence has erupted. "This is about getting Russian troops out."

Rice was consulting with pro-Western Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili about the cease-fire, which will require Russia to remove its combat forces from Georgia but allows Russian peacekeepers to remain in South Ossetia and conduct limited patrols outside the region.

But as Rice tried to work her diplomatic magic, sharp tit-for-tats continued between the United States and Russia.

President Bush applauded the Georgians for their transition to democratic politics since the Soviet Union collapsed and for sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, and on Friday said Russia’s "bullying and intimidation" were unacceptable.

"The people of Georgia have cast their lot with the free world and we will not cast them aside," Bush said. "Unfortunately, Russia has tended to view the extension of freedom and democracy as a threat to its interests … Bullying and intimidation are not acceptable ways to conduct."

He added: "Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected."

As Rice visited Tbilisi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Russian Dmitry Medvedev as part of ongoing European mediation efforts, the Post says. The U.S. also has begun delivering humanitarian aid to Georgia.