US warship arrives with aid

2008-08-24 16:04

Aboard USS McFaul - A US Navy warship carrying humanitarian aid anchored at the Georgian port of Batumi on Sunday, sending a strong signal of support to an embattled ally.

In central Georgia, an oil train exploded and caught fire, sending plumes of black smoke into the air.

A Georgian official said the train hit a land mine and blamed the explosion on Russian forces, who withdrew from the area on Friday. The Russian Defence Ministry declined to comment.

The guided missile destroyer USS McFaul, loaded with 72 pallets of humanitarian aid, is the first of five American ships scheduled to arrive this week.

The much-needed aid and the damaged train were a stark reminder that it will take substantial amounts of aid and many months of rebuilding before Georgia can recover from the war with Russia.

Five days of fighting damaged cities and towns across the country and displaced tens of thousands of Georgians.

Relations at post-Cold War low

The conflict between Russia and Georgia, a small ex-Soviet republic whose pro-Western leaders have tried to shed Moscow's influence and sought Nato membership, has brought Russian-US relations to a post-Cold War low.

A US official said the American ship anchored in Batumi, Georgia's main oil port on the Black Sea, because of concerns about the state of Georgian port of Poti.

Speaking from McFaul, Defence Minister David Kezerashvili said that "the population of Georgia will feel more safe from today (Sunday) from the Russian aggression".

"They will feel safe not because the destroyer is here, but because they will feel they are not alone facing the Russian aggression," he said.

The commander of the five-ship US task force, Captain John Moore, downplayed the significance of a destroyer bringing aid.

"We really are here on a humanitarian mission," he said.

The deputy chief of Russia's general staff suggested that the arrival of the McFaul and other Nato members ships would increase tensions in the Black Sea.

- AP