Cheney accuses Russia of intimidation

By Tabassum Zakaria

CERNOBBIO, Italy (Reuters) - Vice President Dick Cheney, in the sharpest U.S. criticism of Russia since its brief war with Georgia, on Saturday accused Moscow of reverting to old tactics of intimidation and using "brute force."

In remarks prepared for delivery at an economic conference in northern Italy, Cheney was blunt in his criticism of Russia, after visiting Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine where he pledged U.S. backing for the former Soviet states.

The conflict erupted early last month when Georgia tried to retake the breakaway region of South Ossetia and Russia responded with overwhelming force sending tanks and troops into Georgian territory.

The United States and Europe have demanded that Russia pull forces out of Georgia as set out in a French-brokered peace agreement, but Moscow has not yet fully complied.

"This chain of aggressive moves and diplomatic reversals has only intensified the concern that many have about Russia's larger objectives," Cheney said.

"For brutality against a neighbor is simply the latest in a succession of troublesome and unhelpful actions by the Russian government."

U.S.-Russian relations have soured in recent years with the United States accusing Russia of backsliding on democracy and Moscow angered by plans for a U.S. missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Cheney accused Russia, the world's second largest oil producer, of using "energy as a tool of force and manipulation" in Central Asia, the Caucasus and elsewhere by threatening to interrupt the flow of oil or natural gas.