ON BOARD THE MISSILE CRUISER VARYAG, JAKARTA October 28 (RIA Novosti, Mikhail Tsyganov) - A group of ships from the Russian Pacific Fleet headed by the Varyag missile cruiser arrived early Friday in Indonesia to mark the first Russian fleet presence in the area since 1968, the Russian military attache to Jakarta said.
Vice Admiral and Deputy Pacific Fleet Commander Sergei Avramenko who runs the unit said the ships had arrived in Indonesia after conducting the Russian-Indian navy exercise Indra-2005 in the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean.
"The main goal of our cruise is to demonstrate that Russia is a great sea power," he said, adding that it would contribute to international cooperation and promote stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
The naval unit, including the Admiral Tributs and the Admiral Panteleyev large anti-submarine ships, is scheduled to leave the Indonesian Western Fleet base of Tanjung Priok for Singapore November 2 on the first official visit of the Russian navy to the country. It is then scheduled to visit Thailand and Vietnam before it returns to its main base in the Russian far-eastern city of Vladivostok.
