President Dmitry Medvedev, 05 Sep 2008

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has accused the West of re-arming Georgia under the guise of delivering humanitarian aid.

Speaking in Moscow, Mr. Medvedev questioned how other nations would react if Russia used its navy to deliver aid to the Caribbean following a hurricane in the region.

The United States has used warships to ferry supplies to Georgia, after Tbilisi's conflict with Russia last month. 

Washington has dismissed the claims that it was using aid deliveries as cover for arms shipments.

Meanwhile, the European Union says it is "practically ready" to send civilian monitors to Georgia to urge Russian troops to withdraw from disputed territory.

Russian forces pushed into Georgia last month after the Georgian military tried to retake control of the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

In Ukraine Friday, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said Russia's actions cast grave doubts on its intentions and reliability as an international partner. 

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said Cheney's comments will only embolden what he called Georgia's dangerous ambitions.  He also criticized the U.S. for using military vessels to deliver humanitarian supplies to Georgia.

The command ship of the U.S. Navy's Mediterranean fleet, the USS Mount Whitney, arrived in the Georgian port of Poti Friday with relief supplies.

 

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.