The next little saga in Russia's efforts to play in a "New Cold War" is reported by Radio Free Europe:Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said on December 5 at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin that Russia will resume naval exercises in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean that will last "from today and until February 3, 2008," Russian and international media reported. Serdyukov added that "the expedition is aimed at ensuring a naval presence in tactically important regions of the [world's oceans], as well as establishing secure conditions for Russian navigation."
The task force consists of four warships, seven support vessels, 47 planes, and 10 helicopters. It will be the largest Russian naval presence in the Mediterranean since President Boris Yeltsin sent a squadron to the Adriatic in 1999 in connection with the Kosova conflict.
On December 6, Interfax reported that the Northern Fleet's part of the task force, led by the aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov," [shown above] has started its voyage from Severomorsk near Murmansk in the direction of the North Atlantic. The online analytical publication "Stratfor Commentary" wrote on December 6 that "to float this task force, Russia had to cherry-pick ships from its Black Sea, Baltic, and Northern fleets.... It is the maximum the Russian navy can project at present, and the slow rate that Russian shipyards operate at suggests this will remain the case for some time."
The publication added that the purpose of the exercise seems to be more political than military. It argued that "Russia in theory could reestablish itself as a permanent Mediterranean naval power, using a Cold War-era port in Syria. That in turn could embolden Damascus to take a firmer stance in dealing with Israel and the United States, which could have its own knock-on effect for U.S.-Iranian relations. The Russians are searching for levers to disrupt the recent progress in the Middle East; this may prove to be one of them."...
Independent analysts concluded recently that the military decline characteristic of the post-Soviet period continues nonetheless.
