US to Send Second Navy Warship to Black Sea
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A second US military ship is set to be deployed in the Black Sea, a US security official told the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday.
"We'll also send another ship to the Black Sea within a week," Derek Chollet, the US Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, told the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday.
The US Navy destroyer, Donald Cook, will join the USS Truxtun, whose stay in waters bordering Russia was extended "to conduct exercises with Romanian and Bulgarian naval forces."
Donald Cook is capable of firing SM-3 missiles, enabling the ship to function as part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System.
The Pentagon announced last week that the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response force in Spain will be reinforced with 175 marines.
"We're increasing the number from 500 to 675," a Pentagon spokesman colonel said, claiming that the move had been planned last year.
While the additional marines will officially be part of the Spain-based force, the official said they are to be based in Romania where they will join nearly 300 marines already in the country.
In response to the deployment, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week that Washington has violated the Montreux Convention, which regulates the number ships that can enter the Black Sea.
"There exists the Montreux Convention, which gives extremely clear criteria limiting the deployment of warships not belonging to the Black Sea governments in regard to tonnage and length of stay," Lavrov said.
He added, "We have noticed that US warships have extended their deployment beyond the set terms a couple of times lately, and at times they did not always comply with the regulations that are set within the Montreux Convention."
This is the fourth US warship to visit the Black Sea since February.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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