MOSCOW. Dec 8 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Black Sea Fleet warships will return to Sevastopol on December 14 after taking part in NATO's Operation Active Endeavor in the Mediterranean, a source in the Navy Staff told Interfax-Military News Agency.
"Black Sea fleet warships, namely the Smetlivy and Pytlivy destroyers and the Ivan Bubnov tanker, are heading for native shores after taking part in NATO's Operation Active Endeavor," the source said.
The ships will leave the Russian Navy's material and technical support point in the Syrian port of Tartus on Friday. The Ivan Bubnov tanker has a lower speed and that is why it will leave Syria one day earlier.
"While crossing the seas, the crews will accomplish combat training missions and learn to counter terrorist threats and violations of the nonproliferation mode," the source said.
Chief of the Russian Navy's press service Colonel Igor Dygalo earlier told Interfax-AVN that joint Russia-NATO naval maneuvers took place in the Gulf of Taranto in the Mediterranean Sea on November 26.
"The Black Sea Fleet's escort ships Smetlivy and Pytlivy represented Russia at the maneuvers. NATO's group includes the Greek Navy's frigate Bouboulina and the U.S. destroyer Mahan," Dygalo said.
The ships practiced joint tactical maneuvering, and shipborne helicopters practiced elements of an airlift operation aimed at transporting people and cargoes from one ship to another, he said.
"The main peculiarity of the exercise is that the Russian Navy for the first time takes part in the maneuvers with a NATO unit. Prior to that, our Navy only took part in bilateral maneuvers with navies of other nations," Dygalo stressed.
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.