Russia couldn't care less over international isolation due to Georgia
26 Aug 2008, 1255 Hrs

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London, Aug 26 (ANI): The Kremlin has poured scorn on Western attempts to punish Russia for its invasion of Georgia, saying it was more than happy to be estranged from the international community.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has threatened to cut ties with NATO after Moscow voted to recognise Georgia's breakaway regions as independent states.

The Kremlin on Monday said it was more than happy to be locked out of international institutions as it poured scorn on Western attempts to punish Russia over its invasion of Georgia, The Telegraph reported.

Medvedev said he was not bothered if more than a decade of post Cold War rapprochement with NATO was halted altogether.

"We are ready to accept any decisions up to halting relations altogether," he said.

The Russian President also issued a chilly warning to Moldova of a military response if it followed the Georgian example of trying to regain control of its own breakaway region of Transdniester, whose rebel leadership has long been backed by Russia.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who said he saw no merit in joining the World Trade Organization even though Russia has had an outstanding membership application since 1995, adopted the hard line approach.

While he did not formally abandon accession negotiations, Putin announced that Russia was pulling out of commitments it had earlier signed that were seen as pre-requisites for membership.

The international community has so far limited its response to Russia's occupation of large parts of Georgia to strong words and veiled hints of further diplomatic retribution.

NATO has frozen some contacts with Russia, while the United States has warned Moscow's ambitions for membership in international bodies like the WTO were being jeopardized by the conflict.

So far, however, the European Union's response has proved embarrassingly ineffective, as Russia has repeatedly reneged on the terms of the truce by maintaining its military presence in Georgia. (ANI)