- (AFP) -- Two ships of Russia's Pacific Fleet are preparing
to leave for a long-term mission that will take them to the Gulf, naval
officers in the Far Eastern port of Vladivostok said on condition of anonymity.
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- The anti-submarine ships Admiral Panteleyev and Marshal
Shaposhnikov are to leave for the Gulf, escorted by a tanker, in the first
few days of February, the officers said Sunday.
-
- Official naval spokesmen refused to confirm the reports,
although active preparations for a departure by both ships were visible
from the quayside.
-
- The officers said the ship's mission would last at least
six months, the longest such mission by Pacific Fleet vessels in the past
10 years.
-
- The mission is to be headed by a top rank captain, Valery
Terekhin. Its objective is to "observe the military situation in the
region of a possible military conflict between Iraq and the United States,"
the officers said.
-
- The United States is building up its forces in the Gulf
region for the eventuality of a military strike on Iraq if Baghdad should
be found to be in breach of its obligation under UN Security Council resolution
1441 to fully renounce all weapons of mass destruction.
-
- According to a New York Times report Saturday, it is
expected to mass more than 150,000 soldiers in the region by mid-February.
-
- A new order for 27,000 additional personnel to head to
the Gulf was issued overnight, the paper said.
-
- Russia, which has extensive economic interests in Iraq,
is opposed to the use of military force in the stand-off between the United
States, supported by Britain, and Iraq over disarmament.
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