Admiral Vladimir Masorin will meet with Turkey's senior navy officials, take part in talks on the Turkish operation Black Sea Harmony, and visit a number of Turkish warships, Captain First Rank Igor Dygalo said.
Black Sea Harmony is a security initiative advanced by Turkey in 2004. The operation is designed to patrol the Bosporus and Dardanelle straits, shadowing suspicious ships, and is similar to NATO's Operation Active Endeavor in the Mediterranean.
Turkey, a NATO member, has invited the countries within the Black Sea Naval Cooperation Task Group (Blackseafor - Russia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine) to participate in the operation.
Established in 1998, also on Turkey's initiative, Blackseafor conducts search and rescue operations, cleans sea mines, monitors the environment, and organizes goodwill visits among Black Sea countries.
The guided missile cruiser Moskva and large amphibious ship Azov will also be in Turkish waters at the time of Masorin's visit.
Dygalo said the Russian vessels' visit would be rounded off by a joint exercise for communication and maneuvering.
