Black Sea Fleet to Participate in AMAN-2021 Exercises

For the first time since 2011, the Russian Navy will take part in joint exercises alongside NATO countries. This participation will be in the AMAN-2021 multinational exercises, which is planned for February 2021 off the coast of Karachi, Pakistan.

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"More than 30 countries confirmed their participation in the exercise, of which about 10 will use their ship crew, and the rest will send official observers," said the press service of the Southern Military District in a statement on Thursday.

Ships from Pakistan, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, Turkey, the Philippines, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Russia will take part in the exercises.

The statements said that the Russian Navy will represent the forces of the Black Sea Fleet (BSF), including a frigate, a patrol ship, a rescue tug, a Marine Corps unit, a demining squad, and a sea-based helicopter.

The exercise aims at strengthening and developing military cooperation between the participating countries in the interests of security and stability at sea, as well as exchange of experience between naval sailors in repelling the threats of sea piracy in areas of intensive shipping, concludes the statement.

In June, Russia said that NATO exercises near Russian borders had "a clear anti-Russian Orientation." Later in October, the German Defence Attaché in Moscow was summoned by the Russian Ministry of Defence over the participation of Germany in NATO military exercises «STEADFAST NOON» and «RESILIENT GUARD» where the use of American tactical nuclear weapons was practiced.

In a NATO report released on 25 November, Russia was clearly defined as a major threat to the Alliance: "The Alliance must respond to Russian threats and hostile actions in a politically united, determined, and coherent way, without a return to ‘business as usual’ barring alterations in Russia’s aggressive behaviour and its return to full compliance with international law."

Apart from Turkey, Russia has not had any joint exercise with NATO countries since 2011 during the Bold-Monarch exercise off the coast of Spain.

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