Reuters: Most Read Articles: Putin orders large-scale military exercises in Black Sea

Reuters: Most Read Articles Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Putin orders large-scale military exercises in Black Sea Mar 28th 2013, 11:46 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Russia backstops Cyprus bailout despite anger Mon, Mar 25 2013 Putin foe Berezovsky dead, circumstances "unexplained" Sat, Mar 23 2013 Chinese leader bolsters Russian ties on first foreign trip Fri, Mar 22 2013 Special Report: Inside Putin's central bank surprise Fri, Mar 22 2013 UPDATE 3-Russia wants future involvement on Cyprus after 'dangerous' levy Mon, Mar 18 2013 Analysis & Opinion Boris Berezovsky: An oligarch who lost his status Will Putin attempt a last-minute Cyprus rescue? Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during closing remarks at the fifth BRICS Summit in Durban, March 27, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Rogan Ward MOSCOW | Thu Mar 28, 2013 7:46am EDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin ordered the launch of large-scale Russian military exercises in the Black Sea region on Thursday, his spokesman said, in a move that may create tensions with Russia's post-Soviet neighbors Ukraine and Georgia. Putin issued the order to start the previously unannounced maneuvers at 4 a.m. Moscow time (12.00 a.m. EDT) as he flew back from an international summit in South Africa, his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters by telephone. "These are large-scale unannounced test exercises," Peskov said, adding that 36 warships and an unspecified number of warplanes would take part. "The main goal is to check the readiness and cohesion of the various units." He did not say how long the exercises would last. Putin has stressed the importance of a strong and agile military since he returned to the presidency last May after four years as prime minister. In 13 years in power, he has often cited external threats when talking of the need for unity in Russia. Russia's Black Sea fleet, whose main base is in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol, was instrumental in a war with Georgia in 2008 over the Russian-backed breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Disputes with Kiev over Moscow's continued lease of the Black Sea navy base have been a thorn in relations with its former Soviet neighbor. Peskov said that Russia is under no obligation to warn neighbors ahead of time of plans to hold the air and sea military exercises as long as fewer than 7,000 servicemen participated in the maneuvers. (Reporting by Alexei Anishchuk; Writing by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Toby Chopra) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions