21.03.2011
US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates who is currently visiting St. Petersburg met with officers studying in the Kuznetsov Naval Academy. Answering questions at the meeting, Gates said he had offered Russia to participate in military action against Libya during the talk with his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdiukov.
Robert Gates arrived to Russia with a one-day delay due to the operation launched by anti-Libyan coalition. In the Kuznetsov Naval Academy he was met by the academy's commanding officer Vice Admiral A. Rimashevsky.
During the meeting officers asked Gates a question about trainee exchange between Russian and American military academies. Gates answered he was very glad to hear such question and promised to discuss it with Serdiukov.
According to Robert Gates, talks on Russia's participation in military action against Libya will be continued tomorrow at the Russian-American meeting. It is also planned to sum up activities of bilateral working groups, and deliberate about missile defense.
The present visit is Gates' last trip to Russia as US Secretary of Defense, since his is going to retire this year.
