Medvedev: South Ossetia a lesson for world

MOSCOW, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Saturday that his country's actions in South Ossetia should be a lesson for the rest of the world.

Medvedev said the military action taken by Russia in the breakaway republic and in Georgia was evidence that his country's opinion should be considered by members of the international community, RIA Novosti reported.

"The events in South Ossetia showed that Russia will not allow anyone to infringe upon the lives and dignity of its citizens, that Russia is a state to be, from now on, reckoned with," the president said.

Appearing before the State Council in Moscow on Saturday, Medvedev also dismissed the ongoing political pressure from other countries regarding his country's military actions.

"They are trying to subject us to political pressure, but we have got used to it, and they will not be able to do anything," Medvedev said.

Medvedev's comments came after Russia officially recognized both South Ossetia and Georgia's Abkhazia region as independent lands Aug. 26.