Sunday, August 24, 2008

US warship docks in Georgia port

A US warship has arrived in the Georgian port of Batumi carrying the first delivery of aid supplies by sea.
Russian forces are still in control of the military port of Poti, to the north of Batumi, after withdrawing most of its combat troops from the country.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who brokered the ceasefire, has urged Moscow to pull out those forces too.
Correspondents say the US destroyer's arrival is seen as a message of Washington's support for Georgia.
The destroyer USS McFaul is reported to be carrying supplies such as blankets, hygiene kits and baby food.
Two more US ships are due to dock later this week.
See a map of the region
Russia's four-day war with Georgia erupted after Tbilisi tried to retake its province of South Ossetia - which broke away in 1992 and was supported by Moscow - in a surprise offensive on 7 August. The offensive followed a series of clashes between Georgian and South Ossetian forces.
PEACE PLAN
No more use of force
Stop all military actions for good
Free access to humanitarian aid
Georgian troops return to their places of permanent deployment
Russian troops to return to pre-conflict positions but Russian peacekeepers may take unspecified "additional security measures"
International talks about security in South Ossetia and Abkhazia
Crisis day-by-day
Eyewitness: Russian withdrawal
Russia's game plan
The conflict left hundreds of people dead and created tens of thousands of refugees. Many have been returning to their damaged or destroyed homes since the Russian withdrawal.
The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse, in Tbilisi, said that apart from delivering aid, the arrival of US naval personnel is undoubtedly intended to send a signal to the Russians - that America is serious about its support for Georgia.
But, he adds, the prospect of US and Russian armed forces actually meeting on Georgian soil is one that both sides seem keen to avoid.
Batumi is not a natural harbour for a naval vessel the size of the USS McFaul to dock but Russian forces have been fortifying their positions at the key port of Poti, further up the coast.
On Saturday, Mr Sarkozy, welcomed the withdrawal of Russian forces so far, but urged Moscow to pull its troops back from Poti and Senaki, which is the site of Georgia's main air base.
Russia says it has a duty and a right to keep its forces in a buffer zone around the breakaway territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia - though it acknowledges that Poti falls well outside that zone.

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