LONDON, August 8, 2008 (AFP) - Britain joined international calls for an immediate ceasefire in South Ossetia on Friday and urged fresh talks between all sides in the dispute over the breakaway Georgian region.

'We urge an immediate ceasefire in the fighting in South Ossetia and for a resumption of direct dialogue between all parties,' the Foreign Office said in a statement.

The European Union, the United States and NATO have all called for an immediate end to the violence in South Ossetia, amid fears of all-out war between Georgia and Russia.