ROME, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said here Tuesday that Georgia and Ukraine "have every right" to develop their relations with the West and to "join NATO."

    Speaking at a joint press conference with Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, Cheney said "the international community is united in deploring Russia's military intervention and condemning its unilateral and illegal attempts to alter Georgia's borders by military force."

    "The international community supports Georgia's independence and territorial integrity and asks for a peaceful resolution of this dispute through objective international mediation," he added.

    Berlusconi, who has a personal friendship with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, told the press that he had "illustrated to Vice President Cheney our efforts, which in some ways were successful, to avoid that what happened in Ossetia and later in Georgia did not turn an isolated incident into a detonator capable of throwing us back years to the times of the Cold War."

    "I thank Vice President Cheney and the United States for having appreciated the efforts we have made and will continue to make for a return to the collaboration established by 2002 accord between NATO and Russia," Berlusconi added.

    Berlusconi also said "we must work together to combat crises around the world, terrorism and poverty, which unfortunately have not yet been conquered."

    Moscow has accused Washington of seeking to encircle Russia and weaken its defense by making allies of neighboring countries like Ukraine and Georgia.

    Russia agreed this week to withdraw its troops from Georgia within a month but said it would remain in South Ossetia and another Georgian breakaway region of Abkhazia.

    Moscow has already recognized the independence of the two rebel regions and announced that it would establish diplomatic relations with them.

    Turning his attention to other international hotspots, Cheney said "Iran must not procure or develop a nuclear weapon. We must make a common effort to convince the Iranian regime to fulfill its obligations by ceasing enriching uranium and revealing its nuclear program."

    Cheney also praised Italy for being an "excellent" ally and Premier Silvio Berlusconi for being a "strong" leader.

    Italy, he observed, "is a great nation and an excellent ally of the United States" and Americans are "proud to have it as an ally."