America warned Russia today not to try to redraw the map of Europe in the wake of its invasion of Georgia.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said after a NATO foreign ministers' meeting the alliance "intends to support the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of Georgia."

NATO insisted the tiny Caucasus nation remains on track to become a member despite Moscow's opposition.

Ms Rice cautioned Moscow not to draw new dividing lines across Europe. "A new line in Europe where Russia somehow asserts that there are those who cannot opt for a trans-Atlantic future is unacceptable," she added.

She said the allies were united in calling on Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to withdraw Russian combat troops from Georgia. "It is time for the Russian president to keep his word to withdraw Russian forces," she said.

The NATO allies also agreed to strengthen relations with Georgia by creating a special consultative body.

The aim, the foreign ministers said in a statement, was to "assist Georgia, a valued and long-standing partner of NATO, to assess the damage caused by (Russia's) military action and help restore critical services" such as power network, airports, hospitals and other infrastructure.

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said relations with Russia would be limited by the conflict. "There can be no business as usual with Russia under the present circumstances," he said.

He said the allies will not hold meetings of the NATO-Russia Council as long as Russian troops remained in Georgia.

The NATO allies want Russian combat troops to leave the country, meaning Russian peacekeepers in the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia can remain.

The Russian-Georgian confrontation has severely exacerbated tensions between Moscow and the West. Despite calling on Russia to pull its forces from Georgia, Mr De Hoop Scheffer said, "we do not see signals of that happening."