TBILISIA/KIEV/MOSCOW, Russia - August 26, 2008 - A
NATO-Russia naval confrontation in the Black Sea appeared days away on Tuesday,
after American officials announced a U.S. warship would attempt to enter a
Georgian port controlled by Russian army and naval forces. U.S. fleet elements
will in coming weeks unload humanitarian aid in the Russia-controlled Georgian
port Poti, according to U.S. embassy spokesman Stephen Guice in remarks widely
reported by Georgian media.
The American announcement setting the stage for a direct U.S.-Russia naval confrontation came against a background of continuing high tensions in the region in the wake of the Russia-Georgia conflict and with both Russia and NATO rushing warships into the Black Sea.
The first NATO naval vessel to sail into the region was the destroyer USS McFaul, arriving to take up station off Georgia's Black Sea coast on August 24th.
Moscow officials called the U.S. warship's presence near the Georgian port Batumi "provocative" and "unhelpful," pointing out the presence of a squadron of Russia's Black Sea fleet stationed only some 50 kilometers north, in the vicinity of the Georgian port Poti.