The West is drumming up anti-Russian propaganda and its media is unfairly portraying Russia during the current crisis with Georgia, Russian officials and news outlets said this evening.
They say Russia is being branded the culprit in the simmering conflict, which erupted last Thursday when Georgia suddenly sent forces to retake the breakaway region of South Ossetia, prompting a military response from Russia.
"We are carefully watching how western media is covering the events," Russia's foreign ministry spokesman Boris Malakhov told a briefing in Moscow. He said the ministry was "upset" with the "one-sided" coverage.
Earlier, US Vice President Dick Cheney telephoned Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to express US solidarity with him in the conflict with Russia and told him "Russian aggression must not go unanswered."
"The vice president expressed the United States' solidarity with the Georgian people and their democratically elected government in the face of this threat to Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Cheney's office said in a statement.
It said Cheney told Saakashvili that "Russian aggression must not go unanswered, and that its continuation would have serious consequences for its relations with the United States, as well as the broader international
community."
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Russia had a responsibility to end the conflict with Georgia quickly.
Leaders of Poland, Ukraine and the three Baltic states plan to leave for the Georgian capital Tbilisi tomorrow to express their solidarity with President Mikheil Saakashvili.
The office of Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus said he, Polish President Lech Kaczynski, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, as well as the prime minister of Latvia and Estonia were to go to Tbilisi tomorrow.
"The leaders of the five states are going to express their support to Georgia, which is being occupied by Russian troops, and its people, and for the lawfully elected president Mikheil Saakashvili," the Lithuania president's office said in a statement.
Earlier, Russia rejected the latest ceasefire proposal tabled by Georgia over the ongoing conflict between the two countries, saying that it would not even consider a ceasefire document at present.
"According to information from peacekeepers in South Ossetia, Georgia continues to use military force and in this regard we cannot consider this document," a Kremlin spokesman told reporters.
It follows a proposal signed in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi by the Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, offering a ceasefire.
Foreign ministers from the G7 nations urged Russia this afternoon to accept an immediate ceasefire with Georgia and respect its territorial integrity, the US State Department said.
A State Department spokesman said the ministers discussed the situation in Georgia and the breakaway region of South Ossetia in a conference call today and expressed support for mediation efforts led by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb.
"The G7 ministers called on Russia to accept an immediate cease-fire. They expressed deep concern for the civilian casualties and continued attacks on civilian locations," said the spokesman.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin today said the West had mistaken the real aggressors for the victims in a conflict with Georgia over the separatist region of South Ossetia.
Mr Putin, shown speaking on state television, singled out the United States, saying Washington was helping to bring Georgian troops home from Iraq.
Mr Putin, a former president, also said Russia would take its peacekeeping mission in South Ossetia to a logical conclusion.
Mr Saakashvili earlier accused Moscow of trying to overthrow his government as Russian troops pushed into two separatist regions, but Moscow said it had no intention of invading.
As fighting continued in the Caucasus crisis which has alarmed Western governments, rattled investors in Russia and shaken world oil markets, US President George W Bush accused Russia of a "disproportionate response" and called for peace.
Nato Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer accused Russia of using excessive force and violating Georgia's territory.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said he was 'gravely concerned' about the recent violence in Georgia, saying Ireland fully supported Georgian sovereignty and territorial integrity.
"I welcome the Georgian offer of a ceasefire and call on all parties to immediately accept this. Every effort must be made to keep the situation from escalating further," he said.
"In this regard, the EU is working hard to find a solution to the current crisis. Ireland will be represented at an emergency General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on Wednesday."
Mr Martin said Ireland was ready to contribute to relief efforts. He also urged anyone Georgia to exercise extreme caution.
Travel advice on Georgia is available on the Department of Foreign Affairs website www.dfa.ie.
Reuters