Medvedev shrugs off Western threats, says West needs Russia

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow did not fear expulsion from the G-8 over the war in Georgia, adding that the West needs Russia. In an interview with Italian RAI television broadcast Tuesday, Medvedev also warned NATO that it would lose more than Russia would if ties with Moscow were severed. The Russian president said Moscow would not agree to any contacts with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, whom he called a "political corpse."