Reply #12: Moskva back on patrol.

[bushmeister0]

Reuters:

"Russia's flagship cruiser re-entered the Black Sea on Monday for weapons tests hours after the Russian military complained about the presence of U.S. and other NATO naval ships near the Georgian coast. . .

The presence of so many ships from NATO countries earlier drew the ire of a Russian military spokesman during a daily media briefing on the conflict.

'The fact that there are nine Western warships in the Black Sea cannot but be a cause for concern. They include two U.S. warships, one each from Spain and Poland, and four from Turkey,' Anatoly Nogovitsyn, the deputy chief of the Russian military's General Staff said.

'"Moskva" has today departed toward the Black Sea Fleet's naval training range to check its radio-controlled weapons and onboard communications systems,' Captain Igor Dygalo was quoted as saying by Interfax.

On Sunday, the U.S. guided missile destroyer USS McFaul arrived with aid including camp beds, bedding, tents and mobile kitchen units, the U.S Defense Department spokesman Bryan. Whitman said.

Separately, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Dallas has been dispatched with aid, while a third vessel, the Navy command ship USS Mount Whitney, is being loaded in Italy with humanitarian supplies for Georgia, he said." (Itlay, huh? Isn't Darth going to Italy next week?)

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSLP44212620080825

BBC reports:

"Some Russian troops also continue to operate near the Black Sea port of Poti, south of Abkhazia, where Russia says it will carry out regular inspections of cargo.

The US said on Tuesday that its warships would deliver aid to Georgia's port of Poti, which is under Russian control. The move could mean US and Russian forces coming face-to-face.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7582181.stm