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MOSCOW — President Dmitry Medvedev again put the West on notice that Moscow will exert its military and economic might with new determination, saying Saturday that “Russia is a country to be reckoned with” after its war with Georgia.
With a U.S. navy ship unloading aid off Georgia's Black Sea coast within shooting distance of Russian troops, Mr. Medvedev's comments were another reminder that the Kremlin views last month's war as the start of a new era in Russian assertiveness.
In France, the European Union's 27 foreign ministers were reluctant to provoke Moscow, with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner saying the EU did not plan to impose sanctions against Russia.
“Russia must remain a partner, it's our neighbour, it's a large country and there is no question to go back to a Cold War situation, that would be a big mistake,” Mr. Kouchner said.
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In the weeks since Russian forces routed the Georgian army and seized the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia, Russian officials have used bellicose language toward the West. Vladimir Putin, former president and former KGB chief who is now prime minister, has suggested the United States was to blame for the war for helping the Georgian military rebuild.
At a meeting Saturday of the State Council, Mr. Medvedev said the world had changed since the beginning of fighting in Georgia last month.
“We have reached a moment of truth. It became a different world after Aug. 8,” he said.
“Russia will never allow anyone to infringe upon the lives and dignity of its citizens. Russia is a country to be reckoned with from now on,” Mr. Medvedev told the council, a government consultative body of largely regional governors.
Mr. Medvedev criticized the United States and other western countries, though not by name, for challenging Russia's intervention.
“Millions of people supported us, but we've heard no words of support and understanding from those who in the same circumstances pontificate about free elections and national dignity and the need to use force to punish an aggressor,” he said.
The United States has moved to counter Russia, both lambasting Moscow for what it called a disproportionate military response and providing humanitarian and economic aid to Georgia.
Vice-President Dick Cheney, at an economic meeting Saturday in Italy, blasted Russian actions in the war as an “affront to civilized standards” and said Moscow has given “no satisfactory justification” for invading Georgia.
U.S. warships have delivered much of the aid and Russian officials have questioned whether the aid is a cover for weapons shipments.
“Unfortunately, the situation is like this ... the rearming of the Georgian regime, including under the flag of humanitarian aid, is continuing,” Mr. Medvedev said.
“It's interesting how they would feel if we were to use our navy to send humanitarian aid to the countries of the Caribbean Sea, which recently suffered from the well-known, destructive hurricane,” he added.
Georgia, a South Caucasus country long dominated by Russia, sits astride a strategic corridor for Caspian Sea and Central Asian oil and gas. Georgia's desire to join NATO and move closer to the West has angered Russia.
Since the war, Russia has recognized South Ossetia and another separatist province, Abkhazia, as independent countries despite protests from the EU, the U.S. and Georgia.
In the French city of Avignon, EU foreign ministers met to figure out how the bloc can mediate a long-term solution to the standoff. Mr. Kouchner insisted the EU's aim also to improve relations with Russia, despite current disagreements.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was heading to Russia on Monday to meet with Mr. Medvedev and clarify parts of the EU peace deal, especially the terms for withdrawing troops.
