Russia to Contribute Two Navy Vessels to NATO Antiterror Effort in Mediterranean Sea

Russia plans to deploy two naval vessels this week to join about two dozen NATO ships conducting antiterrorism patrols on the Mediterranean Sea, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Aug. 4).

The ships from the Black Sea Fleet are to participate in Operation Active Endeavor until early 2005, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said yesterday. The NATO ships have worked in the eastern Mediterranean and Straits of Gibraltar since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to AP, and in March, NATO expanded the operation to encompass the entire Mediterranean.

The patrols would help prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and WMD-related equipment, Ivanov said yesterday.

Moscow and NATO signed a partnership agreement in 2002, pledging cooperation in counterterrorism, nonproliferation and other areas (Vladimir Isachenkov, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Oct. 26).

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