Sarah Palin, the running mate of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, yesterday said the US would be obligated to go to war with Russia if it invaded a Nato member - a status she advocated for Georgia, which Russia invaded last month, writes Edward Luce in Washington.

Ms Palin, the self-styled "hockey mom" whose selection was criticised by Democrats and some Republicans as rash given her foreign policy inexperience, was giving her first full media interview since Mr McCain chose her last month.