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Photo: Anatoly Serdiukov.
Moscow offered Kiev to use Russian warships for carrying of Ukrainian anti-piracy task units in order to jointly attend anti-piracy campaign in the Gulf of Aden, said Russian defense minister Anatoly Serdiukov in Vladivostok on Sunday.
Combat Capability [42%],
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Russia offers Ukraine cooperation in anti-piracy
02/28/2011 |
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"Russia has made the proposal. If necessary, our ships can accommodate Ukrainian commandos", said the minister.
According to him, now it is up to Kiev to decide.
Grigory Pedchenko, Ukrainian Air Force Commander said in Oct 2010 that Ukrainian military would take part in EU anti-piracy operation Atalanta. Ukrainian sailors are frequently captured by Somali pirates who are active in the Gulf of Aden and beyond. The most resonant was the incident with cargo ship Faina with 17 Ukrainians on board captured in summer 2008. The ship was released in Feb 2009.
Attending the press conference Ukrainian defense minister Mikhail Yezhel emphasized that every country must contribute to the Atalanta operation. As for him, piracy actions should be suppressed at sea, but involvement in the operation can be different, for instance, use of task forces on board warships. But the main thing is interaction in the Gulf of Aden, said Yezhel.
"We have a plan implying the use of amphibious aircraft Be-12 in cooperation with Russian anti-piracy force", added Yezhel.
That antisubmarine aircraft has sufficient operating radius and good surveillance capabilities, emphasized the Ukrainian defense minister.