U.S. Pushes Truce in Caucuses Fighting.

With little leverage but large stakes, the Bush administration launched a delicate diplomatic effort Friday, using private and public pressure to try to bring a cease-fire to the Georgian republic of South Ossetia, where Russian and Georgian forces battled each other into the night.

The sudden military confrontation in the Caucasus left the United States in a particularly difficult position: It has promoted Georgia as a budding democracy in a troubled region. At the same time, its relations with Moscow have eroded just as it needs Russia's support to counter Iran's nuclear ambitions.

"Georgia is an important partner for the United States in the Caucasus, probably the most important," said Janusz Bugajski, director of the New European Democracies Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

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