Two Russian warships started a series of exercises in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, a Navy officer said.
The Moskva guided-missile cruiser, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, made a port call in the southwestern Indian city of Kochi on Friday and teamed up on Sunday with the Northern Fleet's flagship, the Pyotr Veliky nuclear-powered guided-missile cruiser.
Vladislav Malakhovsky, a senior aide to the Pyotr Veliky commander, said Tuesday's exercise involved rescue at sea, putting out a fire on board a vessel in distress and towing it to safety.
The two vessels are due to arrive in Russia's Far Eastern port of Vladivostok in June-July to take part in the Vostok-2010 large-scale strategic exercise.
The exact date of the drills has yet to be announced.
Russia announced in 2007 that it was building up its naval presence throughout the world, and foreign port calls by Russian warships have become more frequent.
RFS PYOTR VELIKY, May 4 (RIA Novosti)
