MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/. A group of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet ships including two frigates - The Admiral Grigorovich and The Admiral Essen - is conducting an exercise to escort amphibious ships in the Mediterranean, the fleet’s spokesman Vyacheslav Trukhachyov told the media on Tuesday.

"A routine tactical exercise is underway in the Mediterranean. Vice-Admiral Valery Kulikov is in charge. A group of surface ships is to team up with a force permanently present in a remote sea area. In the first phase of the exercise the Black Sea Fleet’s newest frigates The Admiral Grigorovich, The Admiral Essen and the patrol ship The Smetlivy are escorting a group of three amphibious ships," Trukhachyov said.