We've
had these reports like this in the last month
Russia
Sends Landing Ships to Syria
A
Russian warship carrying a unit of marines has left its Black Sea
port for Syria amid preparations for a possible evacuation of
nationals living and working in the strife-torn country, news reports
said Dec. 30.
30
December, 2012
The
Novocherkassk landing ship is the third such craft dispatched since
Dec. 28 to the Tartus port that Russia leases from its last Middle
East ally, agencies cited an unnamed official in the general staff as
saying.
The
reports said the Azov and Nikolai Filchenkov landing ships had also
been sent to Syria from their Russian bases.
The
military source said the Novocherkassk would arrive at Tartus within
the first 10 days of January.
The
Novocherkassk and another landing ship called Saratov both made a
rare port call to Tartus in late November.
Officials
did not disclose the details of that visit.
The
Tartus base is Russia’s only remaining naval station outside the
former Soviet Union and is seen as a major strategic asset for
Moscow.
Russia
has been accused of using the base to supply Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad with secret military shipments supplementing the official
weapons sales that Moscow has made to Damascus since Soviet times.
But
recent rebel gains prompted Russia to admit for the first time this
month that Assad’s days in power may be numbered.
Officials
have since openly acknowledged making preparations for a possible
evacuation should the safety of Russians in Syria be threatened by
Assad’s downfall.
The
three landing ships will be joining what Russian reports said was a
much broader exercise off the coast of Syria involving vessels from
three naval fleets.
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