ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — The presence of Russian warships in the global ocean is "normal practice," the chief of Russia's Navy Main Staff said Thursday.
"Today, Russia's Navy is ready to fulfill the tasks of providing security and responding to new threats anywhere in the global ocean. The naval presence of Russian Navy ships in many parts of the global ocean is normal practice," Vice Adm. Andrei Volozhinsky told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting of Russia's Navy's command squad.
In July 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined a new maritime strategy. The doctrine included reestablishing a presence in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as increasing the existing Russian naval presence in the Black Sea and the Atlantic and Arctic oceans.
During joint military exercises with international partners, such as China and India, the Russian Navy also conducts missions in the Indian and Pacific oceans.
