"I have nothing to provide on the report you've indicated," Raines said. "Our submarine force remains the most lethal and feared on the planet. Additionally, US Navy aircraft and ships routinely interact with Russian units in international airspace and seas and most interactions are safe and professional."
Earlier on Friday, the Russian Izvestia newspaper reported that in April, the commander of the Russian Black Sea frigate Admiral Essen discovered a US Ohio-type submarine in the Mediterranean Sea and undertook a two-hour pursuit of it.
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The former commander of the Baltic Fleet Adm. Vladimir Valuev told Sputnik on Friday that the frigate's commander might be recommended for receiving a state decoration for having detected a US submarine.
