Washington (AP): President George W Bush is poised to punish Moscow for its invasion of Georgia by cancelling a once-celebrated deal for civilian nuclear cooperation between the US and Russia.

With relations between the two nations in a nearly Cold Warlike freeze over Russia's actions against its neighbour last month, planning is under way at the White House for the largely symbolic move by Bush, according to senior administration officials.

Action could come quickly, within days at the most, and officials see no need to wait until Vice President Dick Cheney returns next Wednesday from an overseas trip that includes stops in three former Soviet republics.