Saturday, Aug 04, 2007
International
Russia to deploy navy in Mediterranean http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/04/stories/2007080456251600.htm
Vladimir Radyuhin
MOSCOW: An increasingly assertive Russia has declared the Mediterranean a zone of its strategic interests and vowed to set up a permanent naval presence in the region.
"The operational reach of the [Russian Black Sea] fleet covers the Black Sea and the Mediterranean up to the Atlantic Ocean in the region where Europe, Asia and Africa converge," Russia's Navy Commander Admiral Vladimir Masorin said. http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/04/stories/2007080456251600.htm