Posted on 08/27/2008 2:39:22 AM PDT by maquiladora
Kiev/Moscow - Elements of Russia's Black Sea fleet shifted locations on Wednesday in an possible move to avoid a confrontation with a growing NATO warship flotilla near Georgia. Russian naval vessels operating off of Georgia's coastline had moved from a station in the vicinity of the Georgian port Poti into "Abkhazian territorial waters," said Sergei Menialo, commander of Russia's Novorossisk naval base, according to an Interfax news agency report.
The shift took a group of some six to eight Russian warships that had been patrolling near the Georgian port of Poti out of the path of US warships reportedly planning to make a humanitarian aid delivery to the same location.
American officials on Tuesday said elements of the US 6th Fleet would bring humanitarian aid to Poti for delivery to Georgian refugees from the Russo-Georgian war.
The announcement put Washington on track for a Cold War-style naval confrontation with Moscow, as elements of Russia's Black Sea fleet have been enforcing a partial blockade on Poti since early August.
The Russian squadron now off shore and tied up at Abkhazia, a renegade Georgian province adjacent to the Georgia-owned port Poti, was delivering humanitarian and other forms of aid via the Abkhazian port Sukhumi, Menialo said.
The Russian guided missile cruiser and Black Sea fleet flagship Moscow cancelled a planned return to its hope port Sevastopol in Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, was at a Sukhumi pier as part of the Russian naval operation, he added.
The Moscow, the largest warship operating on the Black Sea, visited Sevastopol over the weekend, reloaded armaments and supplies, and returned to sea immediately, Ukrainian naval intelligence sources reported.
NATO led by the US began a dramatic increase to its naval presence in the Black Sea in mid-August, after Russian refusal to abide by a Russo-Georgian ceasefire plan engineered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The agreement among other conditions obliged all Russian and Georgian forces to return to pre-war positions - a stipulation the Kremlin has in some cases ignored.
Russian forces landed in early August near Poti now conduct patrols into the port and continue hold road checkpoints inland. The Russian occupation has made impossible most sea shipments between Georgia and the rest of the world.
The NATO flotilla led by the American destroyer USS McFaul already has exceeded ten warships and will reach eighteen vessels in coming days, Kremlin officials citing Russian intelligence said Tuesday.
German, Polish, Spanish, and Canadian warships are among the members of the multi-national squadron being assembled in the Black Sea, according to Georgian media reports.
Russian admiral Sergei Kasatonov admitted the growing NATO naval formation would soon be stronger than the Russian Black Sea warships off Georgia and Abkhazia's shore, but added the Kremlin could in case of a confrontation deal with the western vessels "using other forms of combat power, including aviation assets."
Kasatonov's comments made in Moscow were among the first public statements by a top Russian official of possible naval combat between Russian and NATO forces in the Black Sea.
The motivation for the increasing NATO naval presence in the region was "primarily political and not military," he added.
They are like toddlers who do everything they can to be provocative.
Apparently it also looks good from a sea-skimmer’s sensor head or through the sights of an RPG. Their CIWS clones apparently don’t work, per the Georgian naval engagement they fought a week or so ago.
Pingski.
They don't seem so sure of themselves when confronted by real power.
Bullies are like that. I'll never forget the advice my King Ranch cowboy grandfather gave me on how to handle a bully who was terrorizing me. One hard punch in the nose ended my problem and I was far from what would be considered a "real power."
hehe....had an old Submariner tell me once that there are only two types of ships: Submarines & targets.
Mopp4,retired USAF '78-'99
Flying the St Andrews flag.
Not in the black sea
Montreux Convention
Article 12.
In either case, the said submarines must travel by day and on the surface, and must pass though the Straits singly.
This is a NATO task force, of course backed by the full power of the US armed forces, coming to the aid of a country who would like to be a partner. It is a very tough place to reach from the ground, almost as tough from the air. Placing naval forces in the crowded Black Sea is a masterstroke. They are "showing the flag" and slowly backing Russian forces up, on their own doorstep. The Russians are blinking.
Once again, President Bush shows why he is president, and how a superpower responds to a difficult situation where it would seem to be powerless.
DogBarkTree wrote:
They don’t seem so sure of themselves when confronted by real power.
Bullies are like that. I’ll never forget the advice my King Ranch cowboy grandfather gave me on how to handle a bully who was terrorizing me. One hard punch in the nose ended my problem and I was far from what would be considered a “real power.”
Good advice, but I always aimed lower.....
I was thinking that too. Also, lots of things are getting revealed to the detriment of Russia, beyond the actual condition of their military. They tried to get China on board with them which is an admission they need help. Maybe China will do so, but not right now.... Even Serbia is keeping their distance.
Absolutely. They also revealed themselves by trying to get the Chinese to help them. The Chinese expressed sympathy and that's it--at least for now. Even Serbia is avoiding Russia. ISOLATION.
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