ST. PAUL, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Having harshly criticized Russia for invading Georgia, U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Thursday he wanted good relations with Moscow and to avoid a return to the Cold War

Accepting his party's presidential nomination, McCain drew a standing ovation when he assailed Russia's military entry into neighboring Georgia last month.

"Russia's leaders, rich with oil wells and corrupt with power, have rejected democratic ideals and the obligations of a responsible power. They invaded a small democratic neighbor to gain more control over the world's oil supply," McCain said.

McCain is a long-standing critic of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, accusing him of backsliding on human rights, and has suggested Moscow ought to be excluded from the G8 conclave of major industrialized nations.

In his speech McCain said that as president, "I'll work to establish good relations with Russia so we need not fear a return to the Cold War." He did not specify what steps he would take if Moscow did not remove its troops from Georgia.

McCain faces Democrat Barack Obama in the Nov. 4 presidential election. McCain said the United States must stand in solidarity with Georgia.

Putin has said U.S. advisers were involved in the Georgian crisis and has accused the White House of provoking it to help Republicans win the election.

(Writing by Ed Stoddard, editing by Patricia Wilson and Howard Goller)

AlertNet news is provided by