U.S. Navy Landing Relief Supplies in Georgia

U.S. Navy Landing Relief Supplies in Georgia

The U.S warship McFaul came through the Bosphorus Strait taking relief supplies to Georgia, the US Navy said.

The guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul passes through the Bosphorus Strait, Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Aug. 22, 2008. The USS McFaul is the first of three U. S. Navy ships carrying supplies such as blankets, hygiene kits and baby food to Georgia via the Turkish Straits to help the country following its war with Russia over the breakaway republic of South Ossetia.(AP Photo/Ibrahim Usta)

The destroyer McFaul arrived in Georgia via the Black Sea and will be followed by two other US ships within a week, officials said.

NATO-member Turkey earlier authorised the three US ships to sail through the Turkish straits into the Black Sea.

The two navy ships and a US Coast Guard cutter are carrying blankets, hygiene kits, baby food and infant care, a US diplomat based in Ankara said.

Georgia has been the scene of violent clashes between Russian and Georgian forces after moves by Tbilisi to re-establish control over its breakaway province of South Ossetia and thousands of people have been uprooted.

Turkey governs international traffic through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits under the 1936 Montreux Convention, which sets weight limits on ships belonging to countries that do not have a border with the Black Sea.

Turkey, which has close ties with neighbouring Georgia and is a key strategic ally of Washington, has been walking a delicate diplomatic line during the Caucasus conflict in order not to antagonise Russia.