Blackseafor warships call at Ukraine's Sevastopol port
14/08/200914:55
MOSCOW, August 14 (RIA Novosti) - Five warships from the Black Sea Naval Cooperation Task Group (Blackseafor) called on Friday at the port of Sevastopol, Ukraine, on a four-day goodwill visit.
Formally established on Turkey's initiative in 2001, Blackseafor - which comprises Turkey, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania, Georgia and Russia - conducts search and rescue operations and environmental monitoring, and organizes goodwill visits among Black Sea countries.
Its charter says Blackseafor can also be deployed for peacekeeping operations under a UN or OSCE mandate.
This year's drills will be conducted under the command of the Bulgarian Navy.
A spokesman for Russia's Black Sea Fleet has said the Blackseafor warships will practice, in particular, monitoring of commercial shipping, interception and pursuit of suspicious vessels, communications and tactical maneuvering.
Georgian warships have not participated in the Blackseafor exercises for a number of years, and will not take part in the upcoming drills.
Russia has said it will not take part in any joint naval exercises involving Georgian warships.
Diplomatic ties were cut between Russia and Georgia after last August's war over South Ossetia, which began when Georgian forces attacked the province in an attempt to bring it back under central control.
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