Second U.S. aid ship arrives in Georgia

Moscow sent a group of its own warships to the capital of the Russian-backed rebel region of Abkhazia, less than 200 kilometers (125 miles) north along the Black Sea coast, Russian media reported.

The white-hulled U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Dallas docked in Georgia's southern port city of Batumi at 11:45 a.m. (0745 GMT), carrying aid for those displaced in the conflict with Russia, an AFP correspondent reported.

A larger vessel, the destroyer the USS McFaul, had arrived in Batumi on Sunday, irritating Moscow which charged that the West was using "battleships" to transport aid.

The ships are carrying thousands of blankets, hygiene kits, baby food and infant care supplies to help people displaced by the conflict, estimated at over 150,000 by the United Nations.

The U.S. embassy said Tuesday that both the USS McFaul and the Dallas would dock on Wednesday in the port of Poti, further to the north, but later that day said it was unable to confirm the plan.

The prospect of the two ships docking in Poti had sparked fears of a stand-off as Russian troops are still patrolling the city and maintaining checkpoints outside.

But a U.S. embassy official in Tbilisi said there were no plans at present for the ships to dock in Poti.

"We are not aware of any plans for ships to go to Poti today," said the official, who declined to be named.

Moscow says it has the right under the French-brokered deal that ended fighting between Russia and Georgia to maintain an "area of responsibility" far into Georgian territory, including in and around Poti.

Batumi, a large Black Sea resort and port close to the Turkish border, lies well outside the area where Russian troops have been operating.

A ceremony for the handover of the aid from the Dallas was to take place at 2:00 p.m. (1000 GMT), U.S. officials there said. But there was no information about the whereabouts of the USS McFaul, which was not to be seen around Batumi port.

The U.S. embassy declined to say if the original plan to send the ships to Poti had been cancelled or if there was a possibility they could dock in the coming days.

Russia has responded uneasily to the presence of the U.S. ships in the Black Sea, accusing NATO countries of using humanitarian aid as cover for a build-up of Western naval forces in the strategic waters.

"Normally battleships do not deliver aid and this is battleship diplomacy, this does not make the situation more stable," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow on Tuesday. "I hope people who deliver humanitarian aid would be choosy about how they deliver it."

A group of Russian warships, including the missile cruiser Moskva, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, arrived Wednesday in the Abkhaz capital Sukhumi to the north, Russian news agencies reported.

The ships are there to "support peace and stability in Abkhazia and in the republics territorial waters," Deputy Admiral Sergei Menyailo was quoted as saying.

"Our tasks include the control of Abkhazia's territorial waters and the prevention of arms shipments" as well as delivering humanitarian aid, he said.

Russia's Vesti-24 television showed Abkhaz separatist leader Sergei Bagapsh welcoming the ships in a festive ceremony with wine and folk dancing.

"Welcome to Abkhazia! Make yourself at home," Bagapsh was shown telling a white-uniformed Russian navy officer.

Russia sent tanks and troops into Georgian territory in response to a Georgian offensive on Aug. 7 to retake South Ossetia, a breakaway region backed by Moscow. More troops then poured into Georgia through Abkhazia.

The U.N. refugee agency has said the number of people displaced by the conflict has reached some 158,600, including 98,600 people displaced within Georgia.