Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said for Russia President Saakashvili was “a political corpse” and called on the United States to “reassess” its ties with the current leadership of Georgia.

“For us, the present Georgian regime is bankrupt,” he said in an interview broadcast on Russian television on September 2. “President Saakashvili no longer exists in our eyes. He is a political corpse.”

He, however, said Russia was ready to discuss with the international community “various issues, including post-conflict resolution in the region.”

He also said that Moscow wanted the international community “to remember who began the aggression and who is responsible for people’s deaths.”

Alexandre Lomaia, secretary of Georgia’s National Security Council, said in response: “The Russian president has lost control, because his efforts to depose the Georgian government have failed.”

“The Georgian president is a democratically-elected leader, he and his government enjoy the support of the Georgian people and the international community,” Lomaia told AFP.

Medvedev also criticized the United States for giving, as he put it, “carte-blanche” to President Saakashvili.

“It is time for our American partners to reassess its relations with the current regime [in Georgia], not least because this regime has brought the situation to a very difficult point and triggered very serious destabilization, launched aggression, which in turn resulted in the deaths of many people,” Medvedev said.

“The current tensions are the result of a less than wise policy carried out by the United States towards Georgia,” he continued. “They [the U.S.] created a sense of being unrestricted and a sense of impunity for the Georgian leader. It seems he [Saakashvili] has received carte-blanche to use any methods. To what it has led is now absolutely clear.”

“I think there is some sort of sense of regret in the United States that this virtual project under the name “Free Georgia” has failed,” Medvedev added. “The leader [Mikheil Saakashvili] is bankrupt, the regime is close to crisis, the situation is tense.”