Sept. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Vice President Dick Cheney increased U.S. pressure on Russia, saying its attack on Georgia last month and ``bullying'' of other former Soviet states risk a confrontation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

``Our principles are being tested anew,'' Cheney said today at a global security conference in Cernobbio, Italy. ``We must meet those tests with candor and resolve and, above all, with unity. Russia has a choice to make, and we in the trans-Atlantic alliance have responsibilities.''

While Cheney made no specific threats of retaliation, his message to Russia was a blunt reminder of the pledge of mutual defense among NATO's 26 members. His comments came amid rising tensions over the U.S. use of warships to deliver humanitarian aid to Georgia, which was condemned by Russia and questioned by France, a U.S. ally and fellow NATO member.

The Georgia crisis ``can only be solved politically and not with warships,'' French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told reporters today after a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Avignon, France. France brokered the cease-fire that ended the five-day war over the breakaway region of South Ossetia, though Russian troops remain inside Georgian territory in defiance of Western calls to pull out.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev today accused the U.S. of delivering arms along with humanitarian aid to Georgia. The USS Mount Whitney, the flagship of the Sixth Fleet, anchored off the Black Sea port of Poti yesterday, about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from a post manned by Russian troops.

Russian Charges

``The armament of the Georgian regime continues, including under the flag of humanitarian aid,'' Medvedev told Russian regional governors in Moscow. ``It would be interesting to see how they would feel if our fleet sent humanitarian aid to the countries of the Caribbean that recently suffered a devastating hurricane.''

Cheney's speech at a global forum in Italy capped a three- day visit with leaders of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine, former Soviet republics that are now aligned with the U.S. Cheney expressed support for Georgia and Ukraine's aspirations to membership in NATO, saying the time ``has come'' to start formal talks.

Russia's recent actions, he said, have intensified debate about whether Russia has larger objectives in Ukraine, ``which Russia has attempted to intimidate by threats and severe economic pressure,'' and in the Baltic states.

Energy-Rich Region

President George W. Bush sent Cheney to reaffirm U.S. support and reassert U.S. interests in the energy-rich region, where pipelines that deliver oil and natural gas supplies to Europe are vulnerable to Russia's influence and disruption.

Cheney accused Russia of ``bullying others'' while using its oil wealth to fuel its own economic progress.

``They cannot presume to gather up all the benefits of commerce, consultation and global prestige, while engaging in brute force, threats or other forms of intimidation against sovereign countries.''

Russia has ``interrupted or threatened to interrupt'' oil or natural gas to Georgia, Ukraine, the Baltic states and Belarus, Cheney said, and earlier this year reduced deliveries to the Czech Republic.

``No part of this continent should leave itself vulnerable to a single country's efforts to corner supplies or control the distribution system,'' Cheney said.

EU governments suspended trade talks with Russia on Sept. 1 to protest the invasion of Georgia, while shying away from tougher sanctions that would expose the energy-dependent EU to Russian retaliation.

Trip to Russia

European Commission President Jose Barroso and French President Nicolas Sarkozy travel to Russia on Sept. 8 for talks on the cease-fire plan Sarkozy brokered. Russia says it has fulfilled its obligations under the agreement.

``Our message to Russia is that through diplomacy and through dialogue Russia can and should defend its legitimate interests,'' Barroso said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Cernobbio. ``We need cool heads, not a Cold War.''

Anthony Cordesman, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said there are limits to U.S. and EU leverage in a region that Russians call the ``near abroad.''

``There's always a real danger when rhetoric goes beyond the bounds of reality,'' Cordesman said in a telephone interview today. ``The fact is that the U.S. and Europe cannot secure all of the states around the periphery of Russia.''

Economic Aid

The Bush administration has focused on economic aid, responding with a pledge of $1 billion to help Georgia recover from the war. The International Monetary Fund agreed to a U.S.-backed proposal to lend Georgia $750 million to replenish its foreign-currency reserves.

``This shows us to be concerned without deliberately being provocative,'' Cordesman said.

The U.S. has stressed pipeline construction that bypasses Russia. In Azerbaijan, Cheney met privately with William Schrader, president of London-based BP Plc's Azerbaijan venture, and Robert Dastmalchi, San Ramon, California-based Chevron Corp.'s Azerbaijan country manager, according to the vice president's office. A spokeswoman for BP in Baku declined to comment on the talks. Chevron couldn't be reached for comment.

Cheney met today in Cernobbio with Peter Sutherland, British Petroleum Plc and Goldman Sachs International board chairman. No aides were present at the meeting and Cheney spokeswoman Megan Mitchell declined to comment on the talks.

Cheney spoke today at the annual Ambrosetti Forum in the mountain region of Lake Como, in northern Italy. The forum, begun in 1975, is a worldwide gathering of politicians, financiers and business people who debate the issues of the day.

To contact the reporter on this story: Roger Runningen in Cernobbio, Italy rrunningen@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 6, 2008 14:39 EDT