VLADIVOSTOK. April 25 (Interfax-AVN) - Foreign vessels will be involved in the large-scale command post exercise of means and forces of the Russian Far East that is to happen in August this year, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Viktor Fyodorov told Interfax-Military News Agency on Friday.
"The August exercise that is to be supervised by Navy Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Kuroyedov will involve foreign military observers, whole some stages will also involve ships and aviation of the foreign countries which are members of the Western Pacific symposium of navy commanders," Fedorov said.
The decision to conduct the exercise was made public at the Pacific Fleet in August 2002 by Russian President and Commander- in-Chief Vladimir Putin when staying at the fleet. The war games will also involve forces of other arms of service and military formations of several other federal ministries.
Fyodorov noted that "protection of Russia's economic interests in the operations zone of the fleet, prevention of illegal activities, including piracy, at the sea, and combating biological terrorism" will be the main tasks of the fleet during the exercise as assigned by Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov.
Moreover, participants in the exercise will practice provision of humanitarian aid to victims of a disaster and ships in distress.
Fyodorov stressed that by current good objective and subjective prerequisites for improving the fleet's combat specifications have been created.
"Speaking about objective prerequisites, I refer to the entire set of events that the Pacific Fleet launched to get ready for a large-scale combat training exercise in August 2003. As to subjective prerequisites, these are the level and quality of training of all categories of the Pacific Fleet's servicemen demonstrated by them during long voyages, accomplishment of duties, implementation of the full set of firing during training voyages," Fyodorov added.