Russians head home after apparent wargames off Iceland
REYKJAVIK (AFP) Oct 11, 2004
After what appears to have been 10 days of unannounced military training exercises off the Icelandic coast, seven Russian war ships sailed back towards Russia on Monday, the Icelandic coast guard said.
The Russian ships, including an aircraft carrier, have been anchored just outside NATO member Iceland’s 12-mile-zone, and have been visible from the shore near the northeastern town of Vopnafjordur.
Russian war ships had not been seen so close to Icelandic shores since the end of the Cold War.
Planes from the Icelandic coast guard, the NATO airbase in Keflavik and even from the Norwegian air force had been monitoring the Russian presence, and on Monday Icelandic trawlers found three empty Russian lifeboats floating close to the northern town of Akureyri.
The Icelandic foreign ministry said on Monday that the country’s authorities had received no explanation for the Russian military presence off its coast.
Yet foreign ministry spokesman Illugi Gunnarsson downplayed the Russian presence: “There is nothing wrong their presence, they are in international waters. According to our information they are participating in a rescue at sea exercise. Although the exercise is unannounced, they are not using live ammunition.”
A spokesman for the Russian embassy in Reykjavik told Icelandic daily Frettabladid that the ships were in the area for sea rescue exercises, and said the three lifeboats were lost in bad weather.
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Aren’t they talking about the same fleet that has made the exercise with US?
Or there are other russian ships in the area?
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