Prometheus 6

He said Russia's reaction to NATO ships ''will be calm, without any sort of hysteria. But of course, there will be an answer,'' Interfax quoted Putin as saying during a visit to Uzbekistan.

Asked by exactly what measures Russia would take, Putin was quoted as answering ''You'll see.'' 

Putin vows 'an answer' to NATO ships near Georgia
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 10:30 a.m. ET

MOSCOW (AP) -- Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Russia will respond calmly to an increase in NATO ships in the Black Sea in the aftermath of the short war with Georgia, but promised that ''there will be an answer.''

Russia has repeatedly complained that NATO has too many ships in the Black Sea. Foreign Ministry official Andrei Nesterenko said Tuesday that currently there are two U.S., one Polish, one Spanish and one German ship there.

Russian officials say the United States could have delivered weapons to Georgia under the guise of humanitarian aid.

''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,'' he reportedly said. ''The second question is why the humanitarian aid is being delivered on naval vessels armed with the newest rocket systems.''