Russia 'sends six warships to Syria

Russia today dispatched six warships to its naval base in Syria in a move that is likely to spark concern in the West. A flotilla led by an anti-submarine destroyer have sailed from the Arctic port of Severomorsk to Tartus. However, military sources claim the deployment is nothing to do with the growing tensions in the country where the crackdown by government troops against opposition forces has intensified in recent weeks.

It comes as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has proposed ending Syria's conflict 'step by step', starting with districts that have seen the worst violence, UN secretary general Kofi Annan told a news conference in Tehran today. He made a suggestion of building an approach from the ground up in some of the districts where we have extreme violence - to try and contain the violence in those districts and, step by step, build up and end the violence across the country,' Annan said.

He declined to give details, saying the plan needed to be discussed with the Syrian opposition. The Admiral Chabanenko and three landing craft will be joined in the Mediterranean by Russian patrol ship Yaroslav Mudry and an assistance vessel. 'The programme of the voyage includes a call in the Syrian port of Tartus,' a military source told Interfax news agency. Read more >>