MOSCOW, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Northern Fleet began monitoring actions of a NATO naval strike group in the Barents Sea, divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters, the Russian National Defense Control Center said Monday.
The NATO Allied Maritime Forces group, which includes missile defense USS Porter, USS Donald Cook, USS Franklin Roosevelt and British Royal Navy frigate HMS Kent, entered the Barents Sea at 7 a.m. Moscow time (0400 GMT) on Monday, it said in a statement.
The Northern Fleet, responsible for the defense of the northern region of European Russia and the Arctic Ocean, has equal status with Russia's four other military districts.
The Russian National Defense Control Center has centralized control of the Russian Armed Forces, ensures the management of the day-to-day operations of the Air Force and Navy, and collects and analyzes information on the global military-political situation. Enditem
