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US warship, Georgian vessels hold joint Black Sea exercises
Batumi, Georgia (AFP) July 15, 2009 A US warship began joint exercises with Georgian vessels in the Black Sea on Wednesday in the first such manoeuvres since the former Soviet republic's war with Russia. The exercises with the USS Stout were due to be held in the coastal waters between the Georgian ports of Poti and Batumi, where the US ship docked amid much fanfare on Tuesday. While the exercises are with the coastguard -- part of Georgia's interior ministry and not its military -- they risk inflaming tensions with Russia, already roused by US support for Tbilisi and earlier US naval visits. US officials meanwhile sought to portray the joint exercises as part of a joint effort to promote maritime security. "The training exercises are aimed at improving co-operation between two nations. To improve the maritime security is an ultimate goal," USS Stout Commander Marc Oberley told journalists onboard the vessel. "There is also a symbolic aspect: making friendship always improves relations." The exercises include training in firefighting techniques, damage control, capturing hostile ships and joint manoeuvring, he added. US warships made repeated calls to Batumi in the aftermath of the August war with Russia, but this is the first time since then that the United States and the small pro-Western state have held joint exercises. Russia has repeatedly criticised the United States for using battleships to deliver aid to Georgia, questioning Washington's motives for visiting an area traditionally dominated by its own Black Sea Fleet. But Georgian coastguard officers and locals in Batumi warmly welcomed the presence of the USS Stout. "We are grateful to the United States, our partner nation, for this opportunity," Anzor Putkaradze, a ranking Georgian coastguard officer on site for the exercises, told AFP. "To see that an American ship in Batumi, it's something reassuring," said Batumi local Anna Mamukelashvili. "We have a mighty enemy, Russia, which is still threatening us. Russia and Georgia fought a war last August over the Moscow-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia and tensions remain high between the two countries despite a European Union-brokered ceasefire that ended large-scale fighting. The USS Stout will leave Batumi on July 17 and make another call in the Georgian port of Poti on July 17-19. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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