Russian-Italian joint naval exercises to be held in September

Major Russian-Italian joint naval exercises will be held in the Tyrrhennian Sea in September, Commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet Vladimir Masorin said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We shall start on September 4. I will head the campaign," the commander said.

At first the ships will arrive at Taranto base, then they will sail to the Tyrrhennian Sea and practice some of NATO exercises.

After that, the Russian warships will visit another Italian port, Augusta.

In addition, the ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet were invited to visit the Maltese base at Valetta, which is actively used by NATO forces, Vladimir Masorin noted.

This visit will be timed to the 15th anniversary of the meeting between Mikhail Gorbachev and George Bush Sr. in Malta, he added.

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