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The move is not linked to the tensions over Russia’s invasion of Georgia, which lies on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, about 900 kilometers (550 miles) from the Romanian coast, said officials at NATO’s military command in southern Belgium.

Three warships — from Spain, Germany and Poland — sailed into the Black Sea on Thursday. They are due to be joined by a U.S. frigate, the USS Taylor, later this week.

They are “conducting a pre-planned routine visit to the Black Sea region to interact and exercise with our NATO partners Romania and Bulgaria, which is an important feature of our routine planning,” said Vice-Adm. Pim Bedet, deputy commander at allied maritime headquarters in Northwood, England.

However, the move risks increasing tensions with Russia which has deployed ships from its Black Sea fleet to the Georgian coast.

The NATO flotilla includes Spain’s SPS Adm. Juan de Bourbon, Germany’s FGS Luebeck and the Polish ship ORP General K Pulaski. Romanian and Bulgarian ships will join them for exercises during a three-week deployment which NATO says has been planned for over a year.

The Russian ambassador to NATO played down the impact of the emergency meeting of the Western alliance.

“The mountain gave birth to a mouse,” said Dmitry Rogozin.

Although the allies said they would not convene any more meetings of the NATO-Russia Council until Russian troops withdraw from Georgia, they bowed to concerns from Europe — which depends heavily on Russia for energy — and stopped short of adopting specific long-term steps to punish Moscow for its actions.

“There can be no business as usual with Russia under present circumstances,” said Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the alliance’s secretary-general, after NATO foreign ministers met here.

“We are not abandoning the NATO-Russia Council, but as long as Russian forces are occupying large parts of Georgia, I cannot see the NATO-Russia Council meeting,” he told reporters.

Russia, which has accused the United States of wanting to dismantle the council, asked for a meeting last week but has been rebuffed thus far.

De Hoop Scheffer said “the future will depend on concrete actions from the Russian side,” but he was forced to add that “no specific decisions on programs or projects (with Russia) have been taken.”

The Russians have agreed to a cease-fire deal that requires a troop pullback, but at the Pentagon on Tuesday evening officials said the latest assessment by U.S. intelligence was that the Russians had shown no sign of beginning a substantial withdrawal. Two officials, discussing the intelligence assessment on condition of anonymity, said separately that Russian forces were holding their positions.