Putin warns of 'response' to Nato presence

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned today he would respond to the increased number of Nato ships in the Black Sea in the aftermath of the war with Georgia.

Russia has repeatedly complained that Nato has too many ships in the area.

“We don’t understand what American ships are doing on the Georgian shores, but this is a question of taste, it’s a decision by our American colleagues,” Mr Putin said.

“The second question is why the humanitarian aid is being delivered on naval vessels armed with the newest rocket systems.”

He said Russia’s reaction to Nato ships “will be calm, without any sort of hysteria. But of course, there will be an answer.” Asked by exactly what measures Russia would take, Mr Putin answered: “You’ll see.”

Separately, Russian officials criticised European threats to postpone talks on a partnership deal over the war in Georgia, but the Russian envoy to the EU said he was not surprised the EU declined to impose sanctions on Russia.

“We are too interdependent,” Vladimir Chizhov said. “Russia and the European Union are bound by destiny to be close partners.”

EU officials said yesterday that unless Russian troops pulled back from positions in Georgia, talks on the wide-ranging political and economic agreement would be delayed.

Britain and Eastern European nations held out for a tougher line, but Europe’s dependence on Russian oil and natural gas deterred stronger sanctions.

Mr Putin visited Uzbekistan today, highlighting that dependence: He announced a new natural gas pipeline to cross Uzbekistan, strengthening Russian control over Central Asian gas exports to Europe and undermining Western-backed efforts for a rival trans-Caspian route.

Criticising the EU decision, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said Russia had fulfilled “all of its commitments”.

He claimed efforts were under way to rebuild Georgia’s armed forces, and said Georgian military forces were behind protests against Russian troops stationed in the country.

“There are active attempts to restore the activity of Georgian troops,” he said. “Yesterday, there were rallies and provocations near the town of Kapoleti targeting Russian troops. We believe they were organised by Georgian special services.

“Naturally, we cannot agree with a number of biased statements regarding Russia in the final declaration of the summit, including the assertion that our reaction to the Georgian aggression was disproportionate,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“The main thing, however, is that they are in the minority and the majority of EU countries have manifested a responsible approach and confirmed their intention to continue the partnership with Russia,” the ministry said.