Russian warship bound for Baltic Sea to participate in NATO drillsJune 1, 2012 - 16:29 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Kaliningrad amphibious assault landing ship from Russia’s Baltic Fleet has set sail for the Baltic Sea to take part in the BALTOPS 2012 naval drills on June 1-16, the press service of the Western military district said. The Kaliningrad left its home base in Baltiisk in Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad on Thursday, May 31 to join over 20 surface ships and some 20 aircraft from NATO countries in a variety of training missions, including anti-submarine warfare, sea rescue and counter-terrorism. BALTOPS is an annual military exercise held in the Baltic Sea and surrounding regions since 1971. Since 1993 it has been a major contributor to the NATO program Partnership for Peace. Warships from Russia’s Baltic Fleet previously took part in BALTOPS exercises 19 times. The Kaliningrad vessel entered service in December 1984 and has carried out a number of training missions in the Baltic, North and Mediterranean seas, as well as in the Atlantic Ocean. Kaliningrad class ships are capable of carrying up to 500 tons of cargo, 13 tanks and more than 200 naval infantry. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Armenia border residents dissatisfied with delimitation Residents Kirants are dissatisfied with the results of the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. “Great success”: Pashinyan pleased with new border protocol Pashinyan has described the signing by Armenia and Azerbaijan of a protocol on delimitation in Tavush as “a great success”. Armenia, Azerbaijan sign protocol on demarcation coordinates Armenia’s government took on May 15 another step towards handing over four border areas to Azerbaijan. Power of One Dram sums up two-year program with Teach for Armenia Idram Junior also joined the companies during the visit, bringing with it a fascinating intellectual game for children |