MOSCOW. Nov 10 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Black Sea Fleet warships, which left their base to join NATO's Active Endeavor anti-terrorist operation, have entered Syrian territorial waters.
"The Black Sea Fleet patrol boats Pytlivy and Smetlivy have entered Syrian territorial waters near Tartus and are conducting naval exercises," Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Kuroyedov told Interfax-Military News Agency on Wednesday.
He said the ships have not yet received the order to join NATO vessels involved in Active Endeavor.
"At the same time, consultations between Russian and NATO military experts on working out the legal background for joint operations in the sea have started at the Russian Defense Ministry office in Moscow," Kuroyedov said.
Admiral Viktor Kravchenko, Russian Navy chief-of-staff, told Interfax-AVN that "no documents on interaction between Russian Navy ships and NATO ships have been signed."
Tatrus hosts a material and technical supply facility of the Russian Navy.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov earlier told reporters that "representatives of the Black Sea Fleet command and the NATO Navy command have met on a number of occasions to discuss the issue of interaction in operations, as well as the extent of Russia's involvement in this operation."
"The activities of the Russian ships will be guided by international law set by the UN. They will counter actual threats - the spread of weapons of mass destruction and their components," he said. "This will be our first common pancake (with NATO - Interfax). Time will tell how it will come out," Ivanov said.
NATO's Active Endeavor anti-terrorist operation was launched after the terrorist attacks against the U.S. in 2001. Its mission then was to control navigation in the Gibraltar and Suez Canal. In March 2004, the zone of the operation was extended to the entire Mediterranean.