US AMBASSADOR Zalmay Khalilzad exchanged sharp remarks with the Russian ambassador yesterday, accusing Moscow of resisting attempts to make peace with Georgia after days of fighting have left hundreds of civilians dead.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has denounced Georgia’s arrest of Russian officers as “state terrorism,” but ordered the withdrawal of Russian troops from the neighbouring country to continue as planned.

GEORGIAN president Mikhail Saakashvili addressed a jubilant crowd in the capital of Adzharia province early yesterday, calling its people “heroic” after officials said regional leader Aslan Abashidze resigned and left for Russia after a power struggle with the government.