Russian forces will carry out regular inspections of cargo at Georgia's Black Sea port of Poti, a senior Russian defence official said on Monday.

"The Russian contingent is carrying out patrolling duties in Poti. Within the framework of those tasks is the regular inspection of cargo which is brought in and out of the port. These checks are carried out on a regular basis," Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of the Russian military's General Staff, told a news conference. (Reuters)