Adminral Kuznetsov. A Russian giant in the Aegean Sea

ATHENS, January 2.-Deck-based aviation of Russia's heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov will hold exercises in the Greek airspace in January, the Greek National Defense General Staff said on Friday. "The exercises will take place on January 3-4 and on January 8-10 southeast of Rhodes Island and on January 11 south of Crete," the General Staff said.

The exercises will be held in international waters but the aircraft will fly in the Athens airspace, the General Staff said. Russia announced in 2007 that its Navy had resumed and would build up a constant presence in different regions of the world's oceans.This move of Russia motivated the interest of many western embassies in Athens and especially the American.

The Russian presence in many places on the international theatre is rising. One of the exercise areas is adjacent to Attalla and east of Tarsus of Syria. An area that Turkey is disputing Cyprus rights of oil drilling. According to government circles, that wished to remain anonymous, the permission for the military exercises is a "Double Message" to Russian and the USA.The time frame of the exercises is on a peculiar coincidence of increased Turkish violations of Greece FIR.

According to Russian officials admiral Kuznetsov and the escort ships departed from the navy base at Severomorsk, and have been cruising outside the strip of Gaza, monitoring hostile Israeli Air Force operations. The Russian media include many reports about the exercises in the Aegean and they characterise them as of very "High importance and symbolism".It is very interesting the probable reactions of the Turkish Air Force in the reserved regions as the may complicate ever more the already tense situation in the Greek Archipelagos of the Aegean