Interfax August 26, 2008
NATO naval grouping in Black Sea to be brought to 18 warships – Gen.Staff
MOSCOW – The Russian military is concerned about the
build-up of the NATO warship grouping in the Black Sea and does not
believe their mission is to deliver humanitarian aid to Georgia.
“The flurry of activity of the NATO naval forces,
which continue building up their grouping in the Black Sea, arouses
suspicion,” Russian General Staff Deputy Head Col. Gen. Anatoly
Nogovitsyn told the press in Moscow on Tuesday.
Whereas there were nine NATO warships in the Black
Sea at noon August 25, by the evening one more U.S frigate passed
through the Bosporus Strait, he said.
“Moreover, we have learned that eight more NATO warships are to arrive shortly,” Nogovitsyn said.
“What is the purpose of all this? References are
being made to scheduled exercises. And indeed, one can see some
legitimacy in this.
“But these eight [warships, expected to arrive in
the Black Sea] will carry cargoes of a different kind, not humanitarian
aid,” Nogovitsyn said, “It's very hard to believe that all other arrivals
[of NATO warships at Georgian ports] were for humanitarian aid purposes
only, as declared,” the general said
NATO warships stationed in Black Sea offshore waters
are equipped with strategic weapons, Colonel-General Anatoly
Nogovitsyn, said, Particularly, the ships are armed with cruise missiles with a range of 2,500 kilometers or more, the official said.
The cargo allegedly transported by them could be
bought in the nearest flea market, without wasting such naval
resources, he pointed out.
Some of the warships arrived from Poland, which is a
long way, the general said, concluding that this could hardly be merely
humanitarian aid.
Could the timing of this be anything to do with the Armada of ships heading towards the Gulf region.
UPDATE: 30th Aug
Russia said U.S. ships could only stay in the Black Sea for 21 days
according to the Montreux Convention, and warned if they do not leave
by then Turkey would be responsible.
Russia's deputy military chief Anatoly Nogovitsyn said the NATO warships' entrance to the Black Sea is a “serious threat to our security,” Hurriyet daily reported on Thursday.
He said under the Montreux Convention, signed in 1936 on the status of the Turkish Straits, the warships can only stay in the Black Sea for 21 days.
“If
the NATO ships continue to stay in the Black Sea after the expiration
of 21 day-period, then I would like to remind you that Turkey would be responsible,” he added.
The U.S. warships are spearheading a humanitarian aid mission to Georgia, a U.S. ally that wants to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Clashes erupted in the Caucasus after Russia responded to Georgia's military operation to regain the control in the breakaway region South Osstia.
The U.S. ships are carrying nuclear missiles that can hit Russian targets as far away as St. Petersburg, Nogovitsyn said, according to Hurriyet. Russia has dispatched its own ships to track the U.S. vessels, the newspaper said.
Russia's Black Sea Fleet is capable of destroying NATO's naval strike
group currently deployed in the sea within 20 minutes, a former fleet
commander said on Friday, according to RIA Novosti.
Russia's General Staff said on Tuesday there were 10 NATO ships in the
Black Sea – three U.S. warships, the Polish frigate General Pulaski,
the German frigate FGS Lubeck, and the Spanish guided missile frigate
Admiral Juan de Borbon, as well as four Turkish vessels. Eight more
warships are expected to join the group.
“Despite the apparent strength, the NATO naval group in the Black Sea
is not battle-worthy,” Admiral Eduard Baltin said. “If necessary, a
single missile salvo from the Moskva missile cruiser and two or three
missile boats would be enough to annihilate the entire group.”
However, Baltin said the chances of a military confrontation between NATO and Russia in the Black Sea are negligible.
“We will not strike first, and they do not look like people with suicidal tendencies,” he said.
Russia's General Staff later said the alliance's naval deployment in
the Black Sea “cannot fail to provoke concern”, with unidentified
sources in the Russian military saying a surface strike group was being
gathered there.
According to Russian military intelligence sources, the NATO warships
that have entered the Black Sea are between them carrying over 100
Tomahawk cruise missiles and Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
UPDATE 2: 30th Aug
NATO ships in Black Sea on routine visit, unrelated to Georgia crisis, says NATO
The Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1), a group of NATO warships, conducts routine port visits and exercises with NATO member nations bordering the Black Sea since 21 August.
This deployment is routine in nature and has been planned for over a year, notification of the requirement to transit the Turkish Straits was given in June well before the current Georgia crisis and is completely unrelated. In accordance with the terms of the Montreux Convention, the ships will stay no longer than 21 days in the Black Sea.
This NATO press release only refers to 5 ships being part of the Group One exercise, which contrasts between the 8 ships expected to arrive shortly, and the 10 already there, making 18 ships in total.
