Medvedev says Russia reserves the right to use force to defend its interests and will not tolerate Western attempts to contain it.

In an interview on Wednesday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev defended his country’s military response to Georgia’s offensive against South Ossetia – seen as Russia’s backyard – in August as a tough but unavoidable action.

“Russia’s interests must be secured by all means available, this is my deep conviction. First of all, by international and legal tools … but, when necessary, by using an element of force,” Reuters quoted Medvedev as saying in his end-of-year interview, broadcast on Russia’s main television stations.

Russian military launched a massive counter-attack in August after forces under Georgia’s pro-Western President Mikheil Saakashvili attacked South Ossetia, which had declared independence from Tbilisi’s rule following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.

Medvedev said he was compelled to take such a measure to prevent genocide in the face of criticisms from Western states which described the Russian action as disproportionate.

Is that a new Cold War I smell?