Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warns that the country is to respond to the presence of the NATO naval forces in the Black Sea.

“The reaction will be calm, without any sort of hysteria. But of course, there will be an answer,” Interfax quoted Putin as saying on Tuesday.

Putin, who is currently in Uzbekistan on an official trip, did not elaborate on what measures Russia would take.

A Foreign Ministry official says two US warships, the Polish frigate General Pulaski, the German frigate FGS Lubeck, and the Spanish navy ship Admiral Juan de Borbon, are currently operating in the Black Sea.

Moscow believes NATO countries are using humanitarian aid as cover for a build-up of Western naval forces in the strategic waters.

"Under the cover of needing to deliver humanitarian goods, NATO countries continue to boost their naval grouping," Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of general staff, said last Saturday in reply to a Pentagon statement.

The United States, however, insists that the US ships, led by the destroyer USS McFaul, headed for Georgia for deliveries of humanitarian.

Last week, Russia said it was monitoring the build-up of NATO warships, but had no plans to reinforce its fleet in the region.

ZHD/DT