SOCHI. March 29 (Interfax-AVN) - Naval vessels attached to the Russian Black Sea Fleet and the Italian Navy are scheduled to start joint exercises on September 4, 2004, Black Sea Fleet commander Vladimir Masorin told President Vladimir Putin on March 27.
Masorin said a Russian team of experts will go to Rome in April to coordinate details of the maneuvers. A second meeting will take place in St. Petersburg in June.
The three-day exercises in the Tyrrhenian Sea will be conducted in line with NATO documents, Masorin said.
"After the exercises, the Russian ships will call on another Italian port, after which they will head for Malta," he said.
The visit to Malta will mark the 15th anniversary of a meeting between U.S. President George Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.