Medvedev shrugs off Western threats

Moscow does not fear expulsion from the G8 over the war in Georgia, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said tonight – adding that the West needs Russia.

In an interview with Italian RAI television, Medvedev also warned Nato that it would lose more than Russia would if ties with Moscow were severed.

He said Moscow would not agree to any contacts with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, whom he called a “political corpse”.