U.S. presidential candidate John McCain criticized Russia's military activity in Georgia, urging the United Nations Security Council to pass a cease-fire resolution and condemning Russian actions in the democratically-governed country.
He also suggested NATO's North American Council hold an emergency meeting to discuss the possibility of deploying an international peacekeeping force to the region.
McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona who has made foreign policy and national security the centerpiece of his campaign said he spoke to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Saturday, their second conversation since the crisis erupted.
His opponent, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, on vacation in Hawaii, said he spoke to Saakashvili and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.