Russia has criticised the U.S for the deployment of a command ship and two other naval vessels to Georgia's southern border in a show of support for President Mikheil Saakashvili over the conflict with Russia. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev asked on Saturday how Washington would feel 'if we now dispatched humanitarian assistance to the Caribbean... using our navy'.

But the Kremlin says the Caribbean exercise has been planned for a year.

Admiral Eduard Baltin, former commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, said the Caribbean exercise meant 'Russia is returning to the stage in its power and international relations which it, regrettably, lost at the end of last century'.

'We are not really sure if this is a show of force or if it poses a viable operational capability at this stage,' Jon Rosamund, the editor of Jane's Navy International, said. 'The Russian navy is keen to be seen on the world stage.'