Russia weighs response to NATO ships
By joshuah at 2 September, 2008, 2:37 pm
Source: CNN.com
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says it is weighing its options following the arrival of more NATO vessels in the Black Sea, according to reports.
Russia Monday accused “foreign navy ships” of delivering weapons to Georgia as the European Union met to discuss possible sanctions against Moscow.
Putin, visiting Uzbekistan to promote the launch of a natural gas pipeline Tuesday, said that its response to ships would be “calm, without any sort of hysteria. But of course, there will be an answer,” the Associated Press reported.
Georgian troops attacked pro-Russian separatists in South Ossetia on August 7, triggering the Russian response. Each side offered conflicting figures on how many people died in the fighting.
Russia has not fully withdrawn its troops from Georgia after sending them across the border for what it called peacekeeping operations and what Georgia called an invasion.
Putin also questioned Tuesday the manner in which the United States had delivered humanitarian aid to Georgia.
“We don’t understand what American ships are doing on the Georgian shores, but this is a question of taste, it’s a decision by our American colleagues,” agencies reported Putin as saying.
“The second question is why the humanitarian aid is being delivered on naval vessels armed with the newest rocket systems.”
Earlier Tuesday Russian officials criticized the European Union for threatening to postpone talks on a new political and economic partnership deal.
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