MOSCOW. Aug 21 (Interfax-AVN) - Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov is expected to pay a working visit to the Far East on August 22-27, a Defense Ministry source told Interfax on Thursday.
"The defense minister is planning to watch different stages of the large-scale exercises currently underway in the Far East and the Pacific Ocean," the source said.
Ivanov will also attend exercises aimed at preventing terrorist attacks and watch a number of training operations, including the drop of a landing force, the rescue of a sinking vessel and a clean-up effort following an industrial disaster on an oil-extracting platform.
The agenda of the defense minister's visit to Kamchatka includes exercises for eliminating a terrorist group moving in on a military facility and a mock attack on a group of vessels involved in illegal activities.
Ivanov is also expected to visit Vladivostok and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
The defense minister told journalists on Wednesday that "this country has not seen exercises of such a scale for 15 years. They involve 11 ministries and agencies," he added.
More than 70,000 servicemen and civilian personnel, some 60 ships and motorboats, more than 30 support vessels and over 70 airplanes and helicopters are taking part in the maneuvers.
"Representatives of Canada, China and South Korea are watching the exercises. Combat ships and servicemen from South Korea, Japan and the United States are participating in some parts of the maneuvers, including sea rescue operations," the defense minister said.