http://rawstory.com/…
Published: Tuesday November 18, 2008

Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov on Tuesday warned Georgia that any efforts to strengthen its military would be punished more severely than during the countries’ brief August war.

“We are concerned over the continuing desire of the Georgian administration to develop its military potential,” Serdyukov said through an interpreter after talks with his Turkish counterpart Vecdi Gonul.

“We believe this policy would bring about consequences more serious than those in August,” he said.

Russian forces moved into Georgia on August 8 to repel a Georgian military attempt to retake the rebel region of South Ossetia.

Under an EU-brokered ceasefire, Russian forces later withdrew to within South Ossetia and another rebel Georgian region, Abkhazia, both of which Moscow has since recognised as independent states.

Serdyukov, on a two-day visit to NATO-member Turkey, also reiterated Moscow’s opposition to a controversial US missile shield planned in eastern Europe.

“Such moves force Russia to make similar moves,” he said, without elaborating.

The US argues that the deployment of a radar in the Czech Republic and interceptor missiles in Poland is concerned with possible future missile threats from “rogue states” such as Iran.

Russia says the planned US installations so close to its borders are a threat to its own defences and are part of a broader aim of building up US and NATO bases on its western frontier.