TBILISI, Georgia (AFP)--A U.S. warship arrived Wednesday in the Georgian port of Poti for a two-day visit, the U.S. embassy in Tbilisi said, highlighting U.S. navy operations in Georgia's Black Sea waters that have angered Russia.
The USS Barry, an Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer, arrived in Poti after a four-day visit to the Georgian port of Batumi, an embassy spokesman said.
The visit was focused on community relations projects and local students would be touring the ship on Thursday, the spokesman said.
U.S. warships, including the flagship of the U.S. Sixth Fleet, delivered humanitarian aid to Georgia after the Caucasus nation fought a brief war with Russia in August.
Moscow criticized the decision to send the sophisticated warships, saying it might contravene international conventions and that the ships were unsuited for aid missions.
Russia sent troops into Georgia on Aug. 8 to repel a Georgian military attempt to retake the Moscow-backed rebel region of South Ossetia.
Russian forces occupied swathes of the country, including Poti, but later withdrew to within South Ossetia and another rebel region, Abkhazia, which Moscow recognized as independent states.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 26, 2008 10:33 ET (15:33 GMT)

Publié le 26 novembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Dowjones