WASHINGTON — Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., returned from a weekend trip to the former Soviet republic of Georgia and said the United States should support the fledgling, war-torn democracy with a significant economic aid package.

Georgia and Russia began fighting last month after the Georgian military tried to retake the de facto independent state of South Ossetia. Russian forces launched a counter-attack that many Western authorities have called excessive.

“It is absolutely indisputable that innocent Georgian civilians were targeted and harmed unnecessarily by Russia,” Sen. Corker, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Tuesday in a conference call with reporters.

“Bridges were taken out, farms were burned, all in an effort to create economic chaos in the country and terror among the citizens,” he said from Nashville. “This is going to require economic aid from our side. Hopefully, the rest of the Western countries will ... make sure (Georgia doesn’t) move backwards economically.”

Sen. Corker, who departed for the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis late Tuesday afternoon, did not say how much the United States should commit to Georgia in economic aid. He noted that Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and the Democratic nominee for vice president, has called for a $1 billion package.

“At the end of the day, I don’t know what the number ought to be,” Sen. Corker said. “I know that it is a substantial number. I think we need to look very closely at what the appropriate amount is, (and) it needs to be in partnership with Europe.”

Sen. Biden visited the region last month and said he would seek to include a significant portion of his proposed $1 billion package in a supplemental spending bill after Congress reconvenes next week.

“This money will help the people of Georgia recover from the damage that has been inflicted on their economy and send a clear message that the United States will not abandon this young democracy,” Sen. Biden said. “I hope this $1 billion commitment will be matched by others in the international community.”

Sen. Corker’s trip included meetings with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and other dignitaries, and he surveyed damage and humanitarian operations in the town of Gori. He also visited shelters staffed by USAID and Mercy Corps, where refugees whose homes were damaged by Russian bombs are being kept.

Sen. Corker said the war between Russia and Georgia highlights the need for the United States to become more energy independent.

“We’re seeing energy politics play out,” Sen. Corker said. “Obviously, Europe is dependent on energy resources coming from Russia. That has, no doubt, led to the muted response by many of the European countries (to the fighting in Georgia). Russia, in spite of what led up to this conflict, acted in a way that countries don’t act in the 21st century.”

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