RYAZAN, August 11. /TASS/. Competitions of the next International Army Games will move to other regions, and seamen will compete at the Black Sea, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told reporters on Tuesday.
This was the decision of Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, he said. "Next year’s competitions in maritime skills will be moved from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea, and in the future to the Pacific, Baltic and Northern fleets," he said.
He said rotation of regions in hosting competitions and contests was already practised. In particular, the finals of the Russian stage of Tank Biathlon this year was held at military training grounds outside the Volga city of Volgograd, instead of the Moscow region in 2014. The international stage of AviaDarts contest was held last year in the southern Voronezh region, and this time in the central Russian Ryazan region, the spokesman said.
Earlier reports said next year Russia would once again host the Army Games.
The first International Army Games involving teams from 17 countries are underway in Russia from August 1 through August 15.
More than 250,000 people have visited the Army Games underway in Russia, Konashenkov said on Tuesday.
"By now, more than 250,000 people in 11 Russian regions have had an opportunity to watch these Games live," he told journalists.
On Saturday, the Game’s chief referee Dmitry Gorbatenko said the Games had been visited by about 170,000 spectators. The most popular discipline, in his words, was Tank Biathlon, which had drawn 80,000 spectators.