A Russian frigate from the Black Sea Fleet “Smetlivy” left the Syrian Port of Tartus today, RIA Novosti reports.
The vessel left Sevastopol on April 1. It passed the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits on April 2. It arrived in Tartus on April 4. Smetlivy has got water, fuel and food supplies. Now it will operate in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea near the Syrian coast.
The US, France, UK, Germany and some other states have brought in more vessels to the area since the escalation of the conflict in Syria in February 2011.
The Mediterranean Sea is part of the Black Sea Fleet’s responsibility zone. The fifth group of the Black Sea Fleet was constantly patrolling the area in the Soviet times. Their numbers could reach 50 at that time.
A group of vessels with “Admiral Kuznetsov” as flagship visited the area in winter, it returned to the main base of the North Fleet in Severomorsk in February 2012 after 2 months of training.
The “Kildin” scouting vessel of the Black Sea Fleet is in the Mediterranean, the “Iman” tanker and the PM-138 repair ship are in Tartus.
Captain First Rank Vyacheslav Trukhachev said that “Smetlivy” will stay in the Mediterranean Sea for counter-terrorism training.
“Smetlivy” was built in 1969. It has displacement of 4390 tons, reaches a maximum speed of 34 knots, can sail 3500 miles, has a crew of 266. It has Uran cruise missiles, Volna launche sites, 76.2 mm artillery, RBU-6000 bomb launcher, 533 mm torpedo launchers.
Vladimir Yevseyev, Director of the Center for Socio-Political Studies, told Vestnik Kavkaza that support of Syria is an essential factor for Russia to prevent intrusion.
