Russian military says will search cargo in Georgia's Poti
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Russian forces posted near Georgia's strategic Black Sea port of Poti may carry out searches of cargo ships, a top Russian commander was quoted as saying Monday by the RIA Novosti news agency.
"One of the peacekeeping functions of our units in the Abkhazia security zone is to search cargo loads with the goal of preventing diversions and provocations," General Anatoly Nogovitsyn was quoted as saying, referring to an area controlled by Russian forces near Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region.
Russian forces have fortified a position just north of Poti, a port city in western Georgia that has seen major foreign investment in recent years.
Nogovitsyn's comments came a day after a U.S. Navy destroyer arrived at the Georgian port of Batumi, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Poti, the first of three U.S. ships carrying aid to the country in a show of U.S. support.
Asked if Russian forces would seek to control Western warships in the Black Sea, the general replied in the negative.
"Such tasks are not included in the peacekeepers plans," he said, according to ITAR-TASS.
Russia poured troops and armour into Georgia earlier this month to repel a Georgian attack on South Ossetia, another breakaway region, and has since dug in deep within Georgian territory.
It has argued that a French-brokered peace plan allows it to take additional security measures in the country.