TALLINN. Nov 28 (Interfax-AVN) - U.S. President George W. Bush said that Russia and Georgia must settle their conflict at a negotiating table.
Russian diplomats must convince people that the only way to succeed is to avoid violence, Bush said at a press conference in Tallinn on Tuesday.
And, in effect, we haven't seen violence, Bush added.
The U.S. president also said that he discussed the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin the previous week and that, according to his sources, the Estonian president had conferred on it with the Georgian president.
Progress can be seen, said Bush, adding that the parties are becoming increasingly aware that the best way to solve a problem is to sit down at a negotiating table and to find a diplomatic solution.
Bush thanked Estonia for its role in promoting Georgia and Moldova's democratic development.
"Russia must understand that a democratic state near its borders is not a threat to its security. It must also understand that an authoritarian state near its borders is not the best guarantee of stability," Estonian President Toomas Ilves said at the news conference.