Swamp Wallaby
International Observer
This could get interesting. Watch this space, ladies and gentlemen... it only needs one jumpy soldier or sailor to do something stupid for things to escalate very fast.
U.S. destroyer heads to Georgian port of Poti
A U.S. navy destroyer carrying humanitarian aid to Georgia was headed to the port city of Poti, where Russian forces were deployed, a U.S. embassy spokesman said Tuesday. (UPDATED)
The USS McFaul and another US ship, the Dallas coast guard cutter, were to arrive Wednesday in the strategic Black Sea port in a strong show of support for Georgia.
"At the request of the Georgian government, they will be delivering humanitarian aid to Poti," spokesman Steve Guice told AFP.
Asked about the presence of Russian soldiers in Poti, Guice said: "We are not trying to provoke anything, but we are willing to go wherever to deliver humanitarian aid."
Georgian Interior Ministry Spokesman Shota Utiashvili told AFP that Russian forces were holding two positions on roads leading into Poti in western Georgia on Tuesday.
Russian forces have also carried out patrols in the city after the bulk of its forces withdrew from Georgia last Friday.
Moscow says it has the right under a French-brokered deal to maintain an "area of responsibility" far into the country’s territory, including in and around Poti.
The McFaul arrived at the port city of Batumi on Sunday as the first of three U.S. ships that are to carry thousands of blankets, hygiene kits, baby food and infant care supplies to Georgia.
It had been moored about two kilometers (1.2 miles) offshore from the Black Sea port.
The U.S. Navy has said that the USS Mount Whitney, the flagship of the Sixth Fleet, will also set sail for the Black Sea at the end of the month.
Russia has accused NATO countries of using humanitarian aid as cover for a build-up of naval forces in the Black Sea in the wake of the conflict.
On Monday, a Russian warship active during the conflict with Georgia left the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol, an AFP correspondent said.
The Moskva, equipped with P-500 Bazalt sea-based anti-ship missiles and an air defense system, had returned to port on Saturday after leaving its base on the second day of Russian manoeuvres in Georgia.
A crew member quoted by RIA Novosti said that the warship was cruising eastern areas of the Black Sea, not far from Georgia.
Russia sent tanks and troops into Georgian territory in response to a Georgian offensive on August 7 to retake South Ossetia, a breakaway region backed by Moscow.
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/h...d=244&sz=84525
U.S. destroyer heads to Georgian port of Poti
A U.S. navy destroyer carrying humanitarian aid to Georgia was headed to the port city of Poti, where Russian forces were deployed, a U.S. embassy spokesman said Tuesday. (UPDATED)
The USS McFaul and another US ship, the Dallas coast guard cutter, were to arrive Wednesday in the strategic Black Sea port in a strong show of support for Georgia.
"At the request of the Georgian government, they will be delivering humanitarian aid to Poti," spokesman Steve Guice told AFP.
Asked about the presence of Russian soldiers in Poti, Guice said: "We are not trying to provoke anything, but we are willing to go wherever to deliver humanitarian aid."
Georgian Interior Ministry Spokesman Shota Utiashvili told AFP that Russian forces were holding two positions on roads leading into Poti in western Georgia on Tuesday.
Russian forces have also carried out patrols in the city after the bulk of its forces withdrew from Georgia last Friday.
Moscow says it has the right under a French-brokered deal to maintain an "area of responsibility" far into the country’s territory, including in and around Poti.
The McFaul arrived at the port city of Batumi on Sunday as the first of three U.S. ships that are to carry thousands of blankets, hygiene kits, baby food and infant care supplies to Georgia.
It had been moored about two kilometers (1.2 miles) offshore from the Black Sea port.
The U.S. Navy has said that the USS Mount Whitney, the flagship of the Sixth Fleet, will also set sail for the Black Sea at the end of the month.
Russia has accused NATO countries of using humanitarian aid as cover for a build-up of naval forces in the Black Sea in the wake of the conflict.
On Monday, a Russian warship active during the conflict with Georgia left the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol, an AFP correspondent said.
The Moskva, equipped with P-500 Bazalt sea-based anti-ship missiles and an air defense system, had returned to port on Saturday after leaving its base on the second day of Russian manoeuvres in Georgia.
A crew member quoted by RIA Novosti said that the warship was cruising eastern areas of the Black Sea, not far from Georgia.
Russia sent tanks and troops into Georgian territory in response to a Georgian offensive on August 7 to retake South Ossetia, a breakaway region backed by Moscow.
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/h...d=244&sz=84525