MOSCOW, June 28. /TASS/. Russia’s sole aircraft carrier The Admiral Kuznetsov must be permanently present in the Mediterranean Sea to protect Russia’s national interests in that region, the head of the State Duma’s defense committee, Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, has said.

"My opinion is this. The Admiral Kuznetsov must be permanently present in the Mediterranean. It should not leave that region in order to safeguard Russia’s security interests. Crews may take turns, while the ship itself should remain in the Mediterranean all the time. Naturally, the aircraft carrier must be maintained in the proper condition," Komoyedov, a former commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, told TASS.

He confirmed that the defense ministry was going to send the aircraft carrier on a long voyage to the Mediterranean.

"It is true. There is such a plan. But I cannot say whether its technical condition is good enough," he added.

Earlier, a military-diplomatic source told TASS that the heavy aircraft carrier The Admiral Kuznetsov would arrive in the eastern part of the Mediterranean in the autumn.

Currently it is undergoing trials in the Barents Sea after repairs.