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Russian Navy keeping close eye on French stealth frigate in Black Sea — source

According to media reports, the La Fayette missile frigate of the French Navy entered the Black Sea on Sunday

© REUTERS/Murad Sezer

SEVASTOPOL, November 20. /TASS. The Russian Navy is tracking a French stealth frigate in the Black Sea, a source in the region’s defense circles told TASS on Monday.

As media reports said earlier, the La Fayette missile frigate of the French Navy entered the Black Sea on Sunday.

"The La Fayette frigate appeared on the radar screens of the Black Sea Fleet’s radio-technical services while passing through the Bosporus and now we are tracking its route," the source said.

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The French frigate incorporates stealth technology, the source added.

"But even stealth technology has its limits given that the Black Sea is small and the Crimean peninsula is in the center and we are fully covering the Black Sea," the source added.

It is not yet clear where the French frigate is heading to, the source said.

"It is impossible so far to say, in which direction it is sailing. It is in the center of the Black Sea and it has not sailed northward but turned to the right (along the coast of Turkey towards Georgia)," the source noted.

Georgian Defense Minister Levan Izoria earlier said that a French Naval warship was due to visit Batumi in late November but did not specify the vessel or the term of its visit.

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