Tough response

A foreign policy document approved by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and released in mid-July stated Russia considers it essential to protect the legal interests of overseas Russians in line with the international law and bilateral agreements.

Russia has undertaken a series of military reforms in recent years, including the nomination of new senior officers, the raising of military expenditure and renewal of weapons. In addition, it resumed strategic bomber patrols over remote areas last year, 15 years after the long-range maneuvers were suspended with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

However, Russia has not launched a large-scale military operation outside its territory since its troops pulled out of Afghanistan in 1989.

A source in one of Russia's security bodies accused Georgia of planning the military operation against South Ossetia since a year ago, noting Georgian forces were trained by U.S. officers and equipped with various types of western weapons.

It is a challenge for the Russian military to fight with Georgian troops of this kind, but also a good chance to flex its military muscle, analysts say.

While Georgia has been seeking NATO membership since President Mikhail Saakashvili came to power, Russia has repeatedly warned against NATO's eastward expansion.

Boris Gryzlov, speaker of the lower house of Russian parliament, said Russia has the right to take counter measures if some countries insist on joining the alliance at any cost.

South Ossetia, along with the other Georgian breakaway region of Abkhazia, are seen by analysts as two important chips to prevent NATO from expanding, so taking control over the two regions is one of Russia's "counter measures."

Russia-West ties

Already under strain due to NATO's courting of Ukraine and Georgia, and over U.S. plans to deploy a missile shield in eastern Europe, tensions between the alliance and Russia have further escalated since the outbreak of the clashes in South Ossetia.

Last week, an emergency NATO foreign ministers' meeting was held in Brussels to assess the situation in Georgia and discuss its wider implications for Euro-Atlantic stability and security, as well as prospects for future NATO-Russian relations.