U.S. sends flagship to Georgia, loaded with $1B aid package

A U.S. Navy flagship loaded with aid steamed through the Dardanelles on Wednesday en route to Georgia, as the Bush administration prepared to roll out a $1 billion economic aid package for the former Soviet republic.

In Azerbaijan, Vice President Dick Cheney said the United States had a “deep and abiding interest” in the region’s stability. It was the first stop on a tour of three ex-Soviet republics that are wary of Russia’s intentions after its war with Georgia last month.

The multiyear U.S. aid proposal calls for spending about half of the money in the Bush administration’s remaining five months in office and recommending that the incoming president keep funding the project when he takes over in January, a senior U.S. official said.

The White House and State Department planned to jointly announce the aid package later Wednesday. It follows an assessment mission to Georgia by Reuben Jeffrey, a senior U.S. diplomat, the official told the AP.

Jeffrey has recommended that assistance be sped to Georgia to help rebuild its economy and infrastructure that was destroyed by Russian tanks, troops and airstrikes, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement.

Russia was watching Cheney’s trip with suspicion, and a top Russian security official accused Cheney of an ulterior motive: seeking to secure energy supplies in the South Caucasus in exchange for U.S. support.