Source: Frigate Smetlivy to Stay off Syria till May

06.04.2012 Black Sea Fleet (BSF) frigate Smetlivy will continue deployment off Syria within a month, said an informed military diplomat.

"At first, frigate Smetlivy will call at port Tartus to replenish water and food supplies; the crew will have a short rest there. After that, the ship will be deployed to east Mediterranean for a month, close to Syria", the source told RIA Novosti.

According to him, when the situation in Syria aggravated in Feb 2011, the US, France, Great Britain, Germany and other countries intensified their naval presence in the region. The Mediterranean Sea is responsibility area of Russia's Black Sea Fleet; that explains deployment of frigate Smetlivy. Russian Navy command repeatedly declared about the necessity to deploy Russian warships in the Mediterranean on the permanent basis.

BSF frigate Smetlivy headed for Syrian coast on Apr 2.

Earlier on, Russian task force including an aircraft carrier arrived at Tartus port, Syria.

Syrian media said that was Moscow's act of solidarity.

Russian Navy's task force headed by aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov started the long-range cruise early in Dec 2011. Northern Fleet mariners successfully performed all training tasks during the deployment.