Russia is to send a permanent fleet of warships into the Mediterranean Sea for the first time in two decades, Russian media reported Sunday, citing naval sources. The core of the group will be made up of cruisers and frigates, said state news agency Ria Novosti.
It quoted Admiral Viktor Chirkov as saying that five to six ships from the Black Sea fleet would be permanently assigned to the Mediterranean to protect Russian interests in the region.
Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu had previously proposed a Russian presence in the Mediterranean. After the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1992, Russia recalled its Mediterranean fleet of up to 50 ships after 25 years. Critics charged the navy lacks the capacity for such an operation, and that it is unclear where the ships would be repaired in an emergency.