SEVASTOPOL. Nov 8 (Interfax-AVN) - A Turkish military delegation led by Navy Commander Bulent Alpkaya will make an official visit to Sevastopol on November 12 to 15, the Ukrainian Navy press center told Interfax-Military News Agency on Thursday.
The visit's itinerary envisages a meeting of the delegation members and Ukrainian Navy Commander Mikhail Yezhel. The two commanders will discuss, in particular, results of the first training of the Blackseafor operational cooperation naval group which took place from late September to early October.
The Blackseafor group was established by six Black Sea countries and started working on September 27, 2001, in accordance with an agreement signed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Bulgaria, Georgia and Romania in Istanbul in April this year.
The group's training featured the Ukrainian Cherkassy mine-sweeper, Russian Zheleznyakov new-generation mine-sweeper, which is capable to clear from mines any place in the World Ocean, Turkish Fatikh combat vessel, Georgian Kutaisi patrol ship, Bulgarian Smeli vessel and Romanian Vice Admiral Horai Madzhellairu ship.
An international staff was established to control the group. It will be led by a Turkish admiral until next year. Later his duties will be transferred to a senior officer of the Bulgarian Navy.
The Turkish delegation is planning to visit the memorial devoted to the Sevastopol defenders in 1941 to 1942 and lay wreaths to it, study the Diorama and other sights and take a look at the Sevastopol Bay on board the Ukrainian Navy Commander's boat.