Syria Participates in Celebration on Russian Navy Day

TARTOUS-Upon the directives of President Bashar Al-Assad, Minister of Presidential Affairs Mansour Azzam participated on Sunday in a celebration and parade held by Russian military units operating in the Mediterranean Sea at the port of Tartous on the occasion of the Russian Navy Day, SANA reported.

Minister Azzam conveyed President’s Al-Assad congratulations to the fighters of Russian naval forces on the occasion of their Day.

 The army’s chief of Staff, Major General Ali Abdullah Ayoub also participated in the celebration along with a number of officers of the General Command, as well as commander of the Russian forces in Syria, Sergei Surovikin and a number of Russian army officers.

The Russian naval units operating in the Mediterranean Sea held a naval parade with the participation of Russian jets and bombers.

Putin Reviews Naval Parade in Petersburg, Greets Crews

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on board a boat reviewed the vessels, which lined up for the Main Naval Parade on the Navy Day on the Neva River.

For the first time in history of the naval parades in St. Petersburg, the event will feature more than 5,000 sailors of the Baltic, Northern, Black Sea Fleets and the Caspian Flotilla, according to Itar Tass.

In total, about 50 ships and submarines will take part in the parade, while more than 40 planes and helicopters of the naval aviation will fly above the city.

Guests of the parade will see the Northern Fleet flagship, the Pyotr Velikiy battlecruiser; the world’s biggest nuclear submarine, the Dmitry Donskoy; and a number of the Russian navy’s newest warships, including the Ivan Gren landing ship, the Admiral Makarov frigate, as well as the Veliky Novgorod and the Vladikavkaz submarines.

China’s Hefei corvette, the Yuncheng frigate and the Luoma Lake support vessel, which took part in the Russian-Chinese exercise Naval Interaction 2017 in the Baltic Sea earlier this week, will also take part in the parade.

The naval aviation’s various aircraft will fly above the city, including the Su-33K and the MiG-29K carrier-based fighter aircraft, Su-24M attack aircraft and Su-30SM multirole fighter aircraft, MiG-31BM interceptor aircraft, Il-38 and Tu-124M anti-submarine warfare and maritime patrol aircraft and other planes. The air show will also feature the Ka-52K Katran ship-based reconnaissance and combat helicopters, Ka-27 and Ka-29 anti-submarine warfare helicopters, as well as Mi-8 and Mi-24VP helicopters.

2017 marks the 321 anniversary of the Russian Navy, created on October 30, 1696, by a decree of Tsar Peter the Great.

H.M