Moscow: The United States is rearming Georgia under the guise of humanitarian assistance, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev charged today, following the arrival in Georgia of US warships laden with aid.
"The rearming of the Georgian regime is continuing, including under the guise of humanitarian assistance. They ve sent a whole fleet to provide humanitarian assistance," Medvedev told officials at a Kremlin meeting.
His charge came a day after the USS Mount Whitney, flagship of the US Sixth Fleet, arrived in the Georgia s Black Sea port of Poti close to military positions taken by Russian troops following last month s conflict with Georgia.
Other US Navy vessels have also docked in Georgia since the start of the conflict, drawing anger from Russian officials who have said their presence in the Black Sea breaches an international shipping agreement.
"I wonder how they would like it if we sent humanitarian assistance using our navy to countries of the Caribbean that have suffered from the recent hurricanes," Medvedev said.
The Russian president was speaking in an address to the State Council, a largely symbolic body comprising the country s top federal officials, regional governors, industrial leaders and other influential elites.
"Russia is a state that has to be reckoned with from now on," Medvedev said in today s speech, which also criticised Western countries for failing to support Russia in its confrontation with Georgia.
Russian troops surged into Georgia last month following an attempt by the Georgian army to retake by force the separatist province of South Ossetia, where tens of thousands of residents have Russian passports.
