Russia plans to boost Mediterranean naval presence
Iran Press TV
Tue Sep 17, 2013 9:2AM GMT
Russia plans to further boost its naval force in the Mediterranean Sea by deploying another warship to its existing fleet in the region by the end of September.
According to Russia's Black Sea Fleet command, the large landing ship Yamal is set to depart from Ukrainian port of Sevastopol by the end of the month to join the existing ten Russian military vessels in the Mediterranean waters, ITAR-TASS News Agency reported Monday.
The ten Russian warships already in the Mediterranean region are listed as large landing ships Aleksandr Shabalin, Admiral Nevelskoy, Peresvet, Novocherkassk, Minsk and Nikolay Fylchenkov; large anti-submarine ship Admiral Panteleyev; escort vessel Neustrashimy; guard patrol ship Smetlivy and guided-missile cruiser Moskva.
Russia initiated its military build-up in the Mediterranean in 2012, establishing a steady naval presence in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, near Syria, since last December.
The mounting pressure around Syria has seen naval forces both friendly and hostile to Damascus building up off the country's coastline.
The report cites Russia's Black Sea Fleet Information Chief Captain Vyacheslav Trukhachev as saying that Yamal's crew has completed preparatory measures for its relocation to the Mediterranean Sea.
"As part of the preparatory period, the ship has performed several drive outs, which included target practice on sea and land," Trukhachev is further quoted as saying.
Yamal has been in service since 1988 and is designed for landing operations and the transportation of military personnel and cargo. It is capable of carrying up to 250 troops and ten tanks.
In addition to the Russian naval force in the Mediterranean Sea, there are two US aircraft carriers, Nimitz and Harry S. Truman; two guided-missile cruisers, Gettysburg and San Jacinto, as well as a number of other American warships deployed in the area.
French Navy frigate Chevalier Paul, specializing in anti-missile capabilities, is also in the Mediterranean waters.
The development comes amid persisting military threats against Syria by the US and its Western and regional allies despite a recent pledge by Damascus to join the Chemical Weapons Convention.
The Syrian government says its chemical weapons arsenal merely serve as a deterrent against a variety of Israeli Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), including nuclear, chemical and biological arms.
Moreover, Israeli regime's stockpiles of WMD have come under particular scrutiny following the US-Russian recent agreement for the identification and destruction of Syrian chemical weapons.
Syria's Ambassador to the UN Bashar al-Ja'afari said on September 12 that the "main danger of WMD is the Israeli nuclear arsenal."
MFB/HSN
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
