About a dozen Russian warships are converging on the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Aden as part of a large-scale strategic exercise, a high-ranking representative the General Staff of Russia’s Armed Forces said on Tuesday.
“This part of the world’s oceans is very important from the point of view of Russia’s geopolitical interests, including the fact that the Russian Navy has a logistical base here [in Syria],” he said.
The warships will conduct air-defense, anti-ship and anti-submarine drills and call at some foreign ports, including Tartus in Syria, he said.
He declined to specify whether the large landing ships were carrying military equipment for Syria.
“The main aim of sending the ships to the Mediterranean is to accomplish the missions set by the navy command, conduct exercises and show the flag,” he said.
On Monday, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov dismissed media reports there were commando units and military equipment for Syria on board some of the warships.
A naval task force from Russia’s Northern Fleet left the Severomorsk base last Wednesday and set course for the Horn of Africa on a new anti-piracy mission, the Defense Ministry said.
It includes the large antisubmarine ship Severomorsk, the salvage tug Altai, and the tanker Dubna, as well as a contingent of naval infantry subunits. The force will travel the length of the Mediterranean, pass through the Suez Canal and relieve the Pacific Fleet task force that has been there on an anti-piracy mission since November.
A Baltic Fleet task force set sail last Tuesday for the eastern Mediterranean where it will relieve a group of Black Sea warships. The force includes the frigate Yaroslav Mudry, the large landing ships Kaliningrad and Alexander Shabalin, the salvage tug SB-921 and the tanker Lena.
The new anti-piracy mission is expected to reach the region by mid-January.
Russia keeps a naval task force in the Gulf of Aden as part of the international effort to fight piracy off the Somali coast.
On Monday, large landing ships Azov and Nikolai Filchenkov from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet left Novorossiysk for the Syrian port of Tartus. The ships are carrying naval infantry units for protection during the voyage. They are expected to join the Black Sea Fleet task force comprising the missile cruiser Moskva and the frigate Smetlivy in the Aegean Sea on December 28 before heading to Tartus.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich confirmed on Monday that Russia has a contingency plan for evacuation of Russian citizens from Syria if necessary.
The conflict between Bashar al-Assad regime and opposition forces in Syria has claimed the lives of over 30,000 people since March 2011, according to UN figures.
.en.ria.ru
25/12/12
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- Russlands Kriegsmarine schickt massives Aufgebot ins Mittelmeer
„Dieses Gebiet des Weltmeeres ist im Hinblick auf die geopolitischen Interessen Russlands sehr wichtig“, sagte ein ranghoher Sprecher des Generalstabs. Das umso mehr, weil sich im syrischen Mittelmeerhafen Tartus eine materiell-technische Basis der russischen Marine befindet.
Der Sprecher wich der Frage danach aus, ob es an Bord Kriegstechnik für die syrische Armee gebe. Nach seinen Worten werden die Schiffe, die der russischen Nordflotte, der Pazifikflotte, der Ostsee- und der Schwarzmeerflotte gehören, eine Luftabwehrübung abhalten sowie die U-Boot-Jagd und andere Maßnahmen auf hoher See trainieren. Geplant seien auch Besuche in Tartus und anderen ausländischen Häfen.
Am Montag hatte Vizeaußenminister Anatoli Antonow Medienberichte zurückgewiesen, dass die russische Kriegsmarine Sonderkommandos nach Syrien geschickt habe.
http://de.ria.ru/security_and_military/20121225/265222599.html
25/12/12
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| Russlands Kriegsmarine schickt massives Aufgebot ins Mittelmeer |
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Russian Navy Starts Forming Mediterranean Task Force....
ReplyDeleteMOSCOW, March 11 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Navy has begun setting up a permanent task force to defend Russia’s interests in the Mediterranean, Navy Commander Adm. Viktor Chirkov said Monday.
“The defense minister has ordered us to form a task force that will operate in the Mediterranean Sea on a permanent basis,” Chirkov told reporters after a defense ministry meeting. “We have already started work on this task.”
The move comes at a time of increased international tension in the eastern Mediterranean due to the worsening civil war in Syria.
According to Chirkov, the issue has been discussed at the Navy's Main Headquarters, with the focus on logistics and training of commanding personnel.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said earlier on Monday that a decision to deploy a permanent naval task force in the Mediterranean had been made.
“I believe that we have the capability to form and maintain such a task force,” Shoigu said, citing the success of recent large-scale naval drills carried out by the Russian navy in the Mediterranean and Black seas.
The exercises involved warships from the Northern, Baltic, Black Sea and Pacific fleets, strategic bombers and naval infantry.
Neither Shoigu nor Chirkov mentioned a timeline for the deployment of the new task force, which would likely require significant effort to ensure efficient logistics and the proper maintenance of warships in the Mediterranean group.
Shoigu admitted Monday that the general state of affairs in the navy "could not be called satisfactory," particularly in terms of poor servicing and maintenance of vessels.
“A significant part of the fleet has to be operated with extended periods [of time] between repairs, while many ships and vessels have armaments and military equipment that can be used only with restrictions," Shoigu said.
A high-ranking defense ministry source told RIA Novosti in the beginning of March that a proposed Russian permanent naval task force in the Mediterranean Sea could consist of up to 10 combat and auxiliary ships from three of the existing fleets.
The task force may operate on a rotating basis and use ports in Cyprus, Montenegro, Greece and Syria as resupply points, the official added.
The Soviet Union maintained its 5th Mediterranean Squadron in that sea from 1967 until 1992. It was formed to counter the US Navy 6th Fleet during the Cold War, and consisted of 30-50 warships and auxiliary vessels at different times.
http://en.rian.ru/military_news/20130311/179943892/Russia-Starts-Forming-Mediterranean-Task-Force.html
11/3/13
Μόνιμη ναυτική δύναμη στη Μεσόγειο θα αναπτύξει η Ρωσία....
DeleteΟ Ρώσος υπουργός Άμυνας, Σεργκέι Σοοιγκού, δήλωσε ότι η ρωσικό Ναυτικό είναι σε θέση να προχωρήσει στη δημιουργία μόνιμης ναυτικής δύναμης στη Μεσόγειο.
"Αποφασίστηκε η σύσταση ναυτικής δύναμης στην περιοχή της Μεσογείου, σε μόνιμη βάση», είπε κατά την διευρυμένη διάσκεψη του αρχηγείου των ρωσικών Ενόπλων Δυνάμεων, προσθέτοντας ότι «η Ρωσία χρειάζεται ένα ναυτικό που θα μπορεί να λειτουργεί αποτελεσματικά σε διάφορες θάλασσες».
Μεταξύ των θεμάτων που απασχόλησαν την διάσκεψη ήταν η κατάσταση των πλοίων και σκαφών του Ναυτικού, και η ικανότητά τους να φέρουν σε πέρας τις αποστολές που σχεδιάζονται.
Τη διάσκεψη παρακολούθησαν εκτός από την ηγεσία του Υπουργείου Εθνικής Άμυνας, η κυβερνητικής Στρατιωτικό-βιομηχανική Επιτροπή, η ηγεσία του υπουργείου Βιομηχανίας και Εμπορίου και η Ενωμένη Ναυπηγική Εταιρεία.
http://rbth.gr/news/2013/03/11/monimi_naytiki_dynami_sti_mesogeio_tha_anaptyksei_i_rosia_20683.html
11/3/13