Russian Marines stationed off the Syrian coast are to stage anti-terror drills, the Defense Ministry announced.

Russian Marines stationed off the Syrian coast are to stage anti-terror drills, the Defense Ministry announced.

The ministry said the war games will involve anti-submarine, anti-ship and air defense exercises in the Mediterranean, where a group of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet vessels are being deployed.

Two Russian large landing ships, Nikolai Filchnekov and Azov, passed on Thursday through the Bosporus and Dardanelles on their way to the eastern Mediterranean where they are to join a Black Sea Fleet detachment, consisting of guard missile cruiser Moskva, patrol ship Smetlivy, tanker Ivan Bubnov and a BS-406 tugboat.