NATO denied Georgia and Ukraine entry into membership action plans in early December, despite strong U.S. backing for their bids. Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the bloc would instead help the ex-Soviet states speed up reforms needed for their eventual membership.
Sergei Lavrov said Washington had said before the August armed conflict over South Ossetia that Tbilisi would have to forget about joining NATO if it used force against the region.
"The subject of NATO for some reason strikes quite a different key now," Lavrov said.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said after the NATO session in December that the alliance's plans for the two ex-Soviet states had not changed, and differences on their accession were not serious.
NATO foreign ministers also agreed earlier this month to gradually resume contacts with Moscow suspended after Russia's brief war with Georgia that followed Tbilisi's attempt to forcefully retake control of its separatist republic of South Ossetia.
After the conflict, Moscow recognized the disputed region and another breakaway republic, Abhkazia, as independent states, triggering international criticism.
