US warship enters Russian-patrolled Georgian port

The flagship of the US Navy's Sixth Fleet yesterday dropped anchor off Georgia's Black Sea port of Poti, where Russian troops have been patrolling since last month's war with Georgia.

The USS Mount Whitney, a sophisticated command warship based in Italy, is the third US vessel to arrive on the Georgian coast with humanitarian aid for tens of thousands displaced by the conflict over Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia.

The oil and dry grain shipment port of Poti is patrolled by Russian troops, who Moscow says are carrying out peacekeeping duties. Georgia and its Western allies say their presence is part of an illegal occupation.

The USS McFaul and a US Coast Guard vessel delivered aid last month at Batumi, Georgia's largest port south of Poti, prompting Russian accusations of a military build-up. Russian forces say they will carry out regular checks of cargo coming into and out of Poti. They man at least two positions close to access roads on the outskirts of the town.

The delivery of humanitarian aid by a US warship has angered Russia, which has its own Black Sea fleet based in the Ukrainain port of Sevastopol.

A US Navy statement said Mount Whitney would deliver more than 17 tons of aid, including blankets, juice, powdered milk and hygiene products.