MOSCOW ¨C A squadron of Russian warships entered the English Channel on Friday, but a NATO official dismissed a Russian media report that they were there to conduct military exercises.
Russian news agency RIA quoted the Northern Fleet as saying its vessels, led by anti-submarine ship Severomorsk, had passed through the Strait of Dover and were now in international waters in the Seine Bay to wait for a storm to pass.
¡°While it is anchored the crew are undertaking a series of exercises on how to tackle infiltrating submarine forces and are training on survival techniques in the case of flooding or fire,¡± RIA quoted the Northern Fleet as saying in a statement.
The Russian navy could not reached for comment and the Defence Ministry declined to comment on the report.
France¡¯s navy confirmed the location of the ships and said it was not unusual to have Russian warships in the Channel.
¡°They are not holding exercises. They¡¯re just waiting in a zone where they can be several times a year,¡± said the French Navy¡¯s information service.
Lt. Col. Jay Janzen, NATO¡¯s military spokesman, also said the alliance was aware of the Russian ships¡¯ location.
¡°Our information indicates that the ships are transiting and have been delayed by weather conditions. They are not exercising in the Channel, as some Russian headlines would have us believe,¡± he said.
Russia has flexed its military muscle recently, with the NATO military alliance reporting more incursions by Russian fighters and long-range bombers.
The Russian maneuvers followed months of tension over Ukraine, where Moscow has annexed the Crimean Peninsula and has supported armed separatists opposed to the Kiev government.
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