In the British capital, about 200 Georgians rallied opposite the Houses of Parliament, with many waving the Georgian flag, while others held placards and peace flags.

'We don't want it to be war. We just want our land back,' said Mr Paata Kharauli, 20, a Georgian student studying English.

'We're waiting for the United States and Britain but they don't help us. We would like them to bring their armies to put in the middle so the Russians don't come any more,' he told AFP.

Asked how he thought Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is handling the crisis, he said: 'I don't think Saakashvili is doing very good things because he knew Russia has very big power and he knew we can't win with Russia.'

Demonstrators on Parliament Square, in the shadow of Big Ben, waved placards - one reading 'Give peace a chance' and another saying 'Honk if you support Georgia'.

Another student, aged 29, who gave his name only as Nicholas, said: 'We need just peace and our territorial integrity.' He said Georgia wanted 'moral support' from Western countries.

Asked what he thought of the French-brokered peace deal, he said: 'We hope that it will work because the whole progressive population of the world supports Georgia and understands what is the real reason for this conflict.'

'War and blood is not our purpose. We just want peace and our territories back.'

In Brussels, members of the Georgian community dressed the Manneken Pis, the Belgian capital's landmark statuette of a boy urinating in a fountain, in Georgian red-and-white national costume.

'For us, the national costume is very important,' a Georgian told Belgium's RTBF public television. 'To wear it in the days of the Russian Empire was to defy authority.'

Another pro-Georgian protest took place nearby outside the Brussels stock exchange.

In Stockholm, protestors gathered in front of the Russian embassy. Police said 100 people were involved, while organisers claimed that up to 200 demonstrated.

The protest was staged by the the liberal Swedish political magazine Neo and the youth wings of moderate political parties.

Neo editor Sofia Nerbrand urged the Kremlin to 'respect the choice of Russia's neighbours - former Soviet colonies which are trying to install democracy in their countries'. -- AFP

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