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<\/p>\nWarships from Russia\u2019s Pacific Fleet have entered the Mediterranean for the first time in decades. Russia\u2019s Navy Chief says the task force may be reinforced with nuclear submarines, as the country starts building up a permanent fleet in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe task force has successfully passed through the Suez
\nChannel and entered the Mediterranean. It is the first time in
\ndecades that Pacific Fleet warships enter this region,\u201d<\/i> the
\nPacific Fleet spokesman, Capt. First Rank Roman Martov told
\nRIA.<\/p>\n
The vessels are now heading to Cyprus and will make a port call
\nin the city of Limassol, he added.<\/p>\n
The group includes destroyer \u201cAdmiral Panteleyev,\u201d two
\namphibious warfare ships \u201cPeresvet\u201d and \u201cAdmiral Nevelskoi,\u201d as
\nwell as a tanker and a tugboat.<\/p>\n
The ships left the Far-Eastern port city of Vladivostok on March
\n19 to join Russia\u2019s Mediterranean task force, which currently
\nconsists of vessels from Northern, Baltic, and the Black Sea
\nFleets, including a large anti-submarine ship, a frigate and a
\nRopucha-II Class landing ship.<\/p>\n
Russian Navy Commander Adm. Viktor Chirkov on Sunday announced
\nplans for the Mediterranean task force and said that it may
\n\u201cpossibly\u201d<\/i> be enlarged to include nuclear submarines.<\/p>\n
\u201cOverall, already from this year, we plan to have 5-6
\nwarships and support vessels [in the Mediterranean Sea], which will
\nbe replaced on a rotating basis from each of the fleets \u2014 the Black
\nSea, Baltic, Northern and, in some cases, even the Pacific Fleet.
\nDepending on the scope of assignments and their complexity, the
\nnumber of warships in the task force may be increased,\u201d<\/i> Chirkov
\nsaid, as quoted by RIA.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Russian submarines may be deployed in the region \u201cin
\nperspective,\u201d<\/i> the Navy Commander said, reminding that both
\nnuclear and diesel submarines were present in the Soviet Union\u2019s
\n5th Mediterranean Squadron.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything will depend on the situation,\u201d<\/i> Chirkov said,
\nalso leaving the door open for missions in the Atlantic and Indian
\nOceans. The task force will be \u201ccomprehensively trained\u201d<\/i> to
\nmeet situations that may arise in these regions too, he said.<\/p>\n
The Russian Defense Ministry announced setting up a naval task
\nforce in the Mediterranean in April, while the country\u2019s Defense
\nMinister Sergey Shoigu has said a permanent naval task force was
\nneeded to defend Russia\u2019s interests in the region.<\/p>\n
The permanent fleet\u2019s headquarters will be set up in the summer
\nof 2013, although their actual location is yet to be announced.<\/p>\n
The Mediterranean has recently become a hotspot of military
\nmuscle flexing as global powers seemingly vie for influence.<\/p>\n
NATO has been staging major naval war games involving several
\ncountries, last October holding an exercise code-named Noble
\nMariner 12. Russia held its largest naval exercises in the region
\nthis January, with drills spanning both the Black and Mediterranean
\nSeas. The media quickly linked both the NATO and Russian war games
\nto the situation in Syria.<\/p>\n
Another recent naval display, seen as provocative by Israel, was
\nthe deployment of the Iranian Navy\u2019s 24th fleet to patrol the
\nMediterranean and convey a \u201cmessage of peace.\u201d Since then, Israel
\nhas acquired its fifth Dolphin-class submarine allegedly capable of
\nlaunching cruise missiles with nuclear warheads.<\/p>\n
China has also been increasing its involvement in the area, with
\nthe country\u2019s warships sailing through the Suez Canal, and several
\nkey ports of the region becoming partially China-owned.<\/p>\n
Major naval groups serving in the Mediterranean Sea include
\nNATO\u2019s Standing Maritime Group 2, French Naval Action Force, and
\nthe US Navy 6th Fleet. The only Russian naval installation in the
\nregion has for decades been the maintenance facility in the Syrian
\ncity of Tartus.<\/p>\n
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