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CURTAIN RISES ON RUSSIAN LINK-UP Somerset's Eastern pursuits HMS Somerset is pursued at high speed by Danish attack craft HDMS Hajen during Exercise Co-operative Jaguar, which saw more than 30 ships and 30 aircraft from six NATO and 11 Partnership for Peace nations exercise out of Denmark with 3,000 ground troops, including Russians.
Picture: LA(PHOT) Paul Smith
HMS SOMERSET'S visit to Russia in June is being viewed by the Royal Navy as one of the most significant by a British warship in recent years.
MALAYA EMERGENCY - 50th ANNIVERSARY p16
As the first visit to take place under new naval initiatives, the Type 23 frigate's fiveday stay in St Petersburg laid solid foundations for joint planning and training for peace-keeping, humanitarian and search and rescue operations. The plans, first prompted by Prime Minister Tony Blair and President' Boris Yeltsin last year, will be carried forward when Admiral Vladimir Yegorov, Russia's second most senior officer, makes a return visit to Britain this month. He plans to visit Plymouth with his staff on July 13-17, and will be embarked in the Russian destroyer Bespokoiny.
Lt Cdr the Duke of Kent was in the city to join the celebrations and hosted a reception for distinguished Russian guests on board the British warship.
Admiral Yegorov, Commander of the Baltic Fleet, will see how our ratings and officers are trained. He will have talks with the Flag Officer Sea Training, Rear Admiral Richard Lippiett, and will visit the training establishments HMS Raleigh and Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth. And when the Bespokoiny leaves she will conduct a search and rescue exercise at sea with a Type 23 frigate. At St Petersburg, Admiral Yegorov met Flag Officer Surface Flotilla, Rear Admiral Peter Franklyn, for talks on board Somerset. The continuing discussions mark an important new stage in relations between the RN and the Russian navy, emphasised by the fact that Admiral Yegorov moved to St Petersburg from his Kaliningrad HQ for the entire duration of HMS Somerset's visit. The ship's company and Royal Marines band embarked in the frigate played a full part in celebrations in St Petersburg marking the 300th anniversary of Tsar Peter the Great's stay in England in 1697-98.
OVER 500 classic and traditional vessels are expected to take part in the International Festival of the Sea at Portsmouth in August. Organisers say that among the vessels on show will be 30 tall ships and 30 Royal Navy ships of almost every type including aircraft carriers. Over 300,000 people are expected to visit the four-day spectacle on August 28-31. So far £3 million has been spent on producing and staging the show. Main sponsors of the event, GEC, are working in partnership with the RN, Portsmouth and Gosport local authorities, and Flagship Portsmouth. • Ticket information - page 27.
• FAMILIES p17
• SPORT p38-39
'500 vessels' to gather for Sea Festival
MUSEUMS GUIDE Due to a newsprint error in our June edition, the third and final part of our Museums Guide is being re-issued in this month's paper.