A U.S. frigate has arrived in Georgia's territorial waters to take part in joint Theater Security Cooperation (TSC) exercises with the Georgian Coast Guard, a Georgian official said on Wednesday.

Russians think that President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have almost equal chances of becoming the next Kremlin chief after the 2012 presidential election, a survey by an independent pollster published on Wednesday said.

Russia will give Kyrgyzstan a $20 mln grant and a $30 mln concessional loan to help stabilize the economic situation in the ex-Soviet republic after recent riots, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said on Wednesday.

The U.S. is ready to help the Kyrgyz interim government to stabilize the political and economic situation in the country, US Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake said during his visit to Bishkek on Wednesday.

Blake is in the Kyrgyz capital to hold talks with the country's interim prime minister, Roza Otunbayeva, the Kommersant business daily said.

He said he is "optimistic" about the measures taken by the provisional government, adding that the U.S. considers human rights and civil freedoms priority issues in the former Soviet republic.

On Sunday, Otunbayeva pledged in a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to fulfill agreements concerning the U.S.'s Manas military base in the country. The base is used as a transit center for military operations in nearby Afghanistan.

Clinton in turn offered continued humanitarian assistance and support for Kyrgyz efforts to stabilize their political and economic situation.

President Kurmanbek Bakiyev fled Bishkek after violent protests swept the country last week and brought the opposition to power. Over 80 people were killed and more than 1,500 injured in the unrest.

RIA Novosti

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev will attend the funeral of late Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, who died on Saturday in a plane crash in western Russia, the Kremlin announced on Wednesday.

Nicaragua and the former Georgian republic of South Ossetia have signed an agreement on the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, a spokeswoman for the South Ossetian president said on Wednesday.

Kyrgyz interim Prime Minister Roza Otunbayeva does not rule out the possibility of talks with the deposed Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev who earlier said he would resign if the interim government guarantees his and his family's security and order in the country.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday he is ready to submit the new arms reduction treaty to parliament for ratification in the beginning of May should his counterpart Barack Obama do the same in the United States.

In his first comments on Kyrgyzstan's riots, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev blamed Kyrgyz authorities for failing to prevent unrests and said the risk of a civil war in the Central Asian country is high.

A total of 97 people died when Polish President Lech Kaczynski's plane crashed in west Russia on Saturday, Russia's Emergencies Ministry said on Tuesday.