U.S. navy arrives in Georgia as Russian troops stay

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By Niko Mchedlishvili

BATUMI, Georgia (Reuters) - A U.S. navy warship arrived inGeorgia's main Black Sea port of Batumi on Sunday withhumanitarian aid as Russia ignored Western demands to removeits remaining troops from Georgia's heartland.

Russia says the residual troops are peacekeepers needed toavert further bloodshed and to protect the people of Georgia'sseparatist, pro-Moscow provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhaziatwo days after Moscow said it had wrapped up its withdrawal.

On Georgia's main east-west rail line, a fuel trainexploded on Sunday after apparently hitting a landmine.

The conflict erupted on August 7-8 when Georgia tried toretake South Ossetia. A Russian counter-offensive pushed intoGeorgia proper, crossing its east-west highway and nearing aWestern-backed oil pipeline.

Russian troops also moved into Western Georgia fromAbkhazia, another breakaway region on the Black Sea. Hundredsof people were killed, tens of thousands displaced and housingand infrastructure wrecked in the fighting.

In Batumi, 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of another port,Poti, where Russian troops are still present, the USS McFaularrived with aid for the tens of thousands displaced by theconflict.

Underscoring U.S. support for Georgia, two other U.S. shipsare due to follow the guided missile destroyer to the port. TheU.S. has already delivered some aid by military cargo plane butis now shipping in beds and food.

Russia's Black Sea fleet flagship vessel, the Moskva, is nolonger in the same area, having returned to its base in Ukraineon Saturday, Russian news agencies reported.

Georgian officials were assessing the scale of the damagefrom the fuel train blast, which could potentially disrupt akey trade route for oil exports from Azerbaijan to Europeanmarkets.

Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze told Reuters by telephone:"The railway is vital not just for the Georgian economy but forthe economy of neighbouring countries."

RUSSIAN PRESENCE

The United States and Europe fear the continued Russianpresence in Georgia will cement the country's ethnic partition,undermine President Mikheil Saakashvili's pro-Westerngovernment and threaten vital energy pipelines criss-crossingthe country.

Particularly worrisome for Tbilisi and the West is acheckpoint set up at the port of Poti, which lies outside thesecurity zone Russia says is covered by its peacekeepingmandate and is hundreds of kilometres from South Ossetia.

"Putting up permanent facilities and checkpoints areinconsistent with the (ceasefire) agreement," White Housespokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

France, which helped broker the ceasefire, urged Moscow onSaturday to order its forces out of Poti as soon as possible.

The secretary of Georgia's National Security Council, KakhaLomaia, told Reuters Tbilisi had reached a deal with Moscow forthe withdrawal of the Russian soldiers from Poti on Sunday butRussian officials said they could not confirm this.

Though not Georgia's busiest port for oil, Poti can load upto 100,000 barrels per day of oil products, which arrive byrail from Azerbaijan. It is also the gateway for merchandisemoving to Georgia, other Caucasus republics and Central Asia.

Lomaia called on Russia to release 12 Georgian soldiers hesaid had been taken to Abkhazia, saying this violated the termsof a prisoner exchange agreement mediated by France.

BUFFER ZONE

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said he andKremlin leader Dmitry Medvedev had agreed on Saturday on theneed to create an international mechanism under the auspices ofthe Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)to replace Russian patrols in a buffer zone south of SouthOssetia.

In a conflicting account, the Kremlin said replacingRussian peacekeepers was not discussed. Russia has earlier saidSouth Ossetians and Abkhazians would only accept Russianpeacekeepers.

Despite repeated demands for a complete Russian pullback topositions before the conflict, the West lacks leverage over aresurgent Russia whose oil and gas it sorely needs.

A U.S. trade official said Russia's actions could affectits membership of the Group of Eight industrialized nations andits bid to join the World Trade Organization.

"That is all at risk now," U.S. Commerce Secretary CarlosGutierrez was quoted as saying by Germany's Der Spiegel weekly.

The U.S. envoy to the Caucasus said Russia hadinadvertently helped Georgia's bid for NATO membership with itsactions. Moscow sees Georgia and other ex-Soviet republics aspart of its legitimate sphere of influence and opposes themjoining NATO.