Medvedev told the State Council meeting that his government had acted responsibly.

“There isn’t a single country in the world that would tolerate its citizens and peacekeepers being killed. Russia was obliged to save these people”.

At the Moscow meeting, the government’s position was backed by regional leaders.

The Republic of Tatarstan’s President, Mentimir Shaimiyev, said recent events showed that ethnic conflicts cannot be solved by force.

“It has already led to the collapse of Yugoslavia, now Georgia. These issues cannot be neglected and put on hold”, Shaimiyev said.

The regions are also offering help to South Ossetia so it can recover. Some are drawing up agreements on cooperation with what they call the world’s youngest country.

At the beginning of Saturday’s meeting Medvedev made his position clear. He said ‘war’ was the only way to describe the crisis in South Ossetia.

The president went on to say that Moscow was prepared for criticism from some quarters in the West after it recognised the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

“There are those who are trying to exert political pressure on Russia. This is unacceptable. This pressure will bring no result. I want to make it clear that confrontation is not our choice. We are prepared for co-operative relations based on international law,” Medvedev said.

The newly-independent republics in the Caucasus are now hopeful they will get their long-awaited chance to present their cases internationally. Abkhazian President Sergey Bagapsh said his nation was no different to any other, saying Abkhazians wanted ‘to build relations with rest of the world’.

“All these years that we’re begging the EU, the Council of Europe, all possible committees, the UN Security Council to simply give us a word, to listen to us, just to let us have a chance to explain who these Abkhaz and Ossetian people are. To explain we’re not a bunch of weird people with beards and rifles. We’re civilised people. We want to live in a civilized country and to build relations with the rest of the world,” Bagapsh said.

Commenting on NATO’s massive support for Georgia – mainly by sending warships full of humanitarian aid to the Black Sea, Medvedev said it would be interesting to see what NATO’s reaction would be if Russia sent its warships to the Caribbean to help the nations hit by the recent hurricane.

“We didn’t get a word of support from those who, in similar circumstances, were speaking lots about freedom of choice, national dignity and use of force to punish aggressors. Unfortunately these countries continue to arm the Georgian regime under the flag of humanitarian aid,” he said.

Moscow says it is ready to step up security measures to defend the country’s interests,

RT: Immediately after Kosovo’s independence was recognised, Moscow said this could become a precedent for South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Today, you made a decision to support these republics’ independence. Why did Russia do it? Does this square with international law?

Medvedev: I’ll start with your second question. This is fully in line with international law. When the case of Kosovo arose, my colleagues said this was a special case, or, as experts in international affairs say, casus sui generis. Well, each case of such recognition is a special case. The situation in Kosovo was special, and the situation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia is special as well.

In our situation, it is quite obvious that we made this decision in order to prevent genocide and annihilation of these peoples, and to help them to come to their feet. These unrecognised republics have been struggling for their independence for seventeen years now. Despite all attempts by the international community, no progress was made during this time. Until just recently, we tried to help restore the state unite of Georgia. However, it didn’t work.

The decision to launch an aggression buried all hopes of achieving an agreement. Thus, under current circumstances, the only way to preserve these peoples is to recognise them as subjects of international law, to recognize their state independence.

That is why our decision is fully in line with international law, the UN Charter, Helsinki declarations and other international documents.

RT: Is Russia prepared for a long and tough confrontation with leading world powers that the decision it made today may lead to? And, in general, aren’t we afraid of the prospect to enter another Cold War?

Medvedev: We are not afraid of anything, the prospect of another Cold War included. Of course, we don’t want that. In this situation, everything depends on the stand of our partners in the world community, our partners in the West. If they want to preserve good relations with Russia, they will understand the reason for making such a decision, and the situation will be calm. But if they choose a confrontational scenario, well, we‘ve been through all kinds of situations, and we’ll survive.

RT: You have signed the six-point agreement. One of the points says Russia should pull its troops out of Georgia. Nevertheless, Russia is still being accused of not meeting this obligation. Is this true? Are there Russian troops left in Georgia?

Medvedev: That’s not true. Russia has fully met its obligations stemming from the six principles of the so-called Medvedev-Sarkozi agreement. Our troops have been withdrawn from Georgia, except for the so-called security corridor.

RT: The presidential campaign is underway in the US. Both candidates have spoken more than once on Russia’s actions in Georgia. Don’t you think this situation is being used as an instrument for the political struggle inside the US?

Medvedev: Well, as far as I know, usually during the elections in the United States of America, voters are quite indifferent to what is happening abroad. But if one of the candidates managed to use this question, well, godspeed him. The main thing is that it should not lead to international tensions. I have no doubt that both candidates will try to spin this situation for his purposes. But such are the rules of the election campaign.