Russian 'Syria Arms' Ship Docks At Novorossiysk

A Russian warship which some media reports claimed was carrying arms destined for Syria has arrived at the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk on Friday, a spokesman said. The Nikolai Filchenkov, an amphibious ship, was en route from the Crimean port of Sevastopol, Black Sea Fleet spokesman Vyacheslav Trukhachev told RIA Novosti. "The military hardware, which the vessel delivered, will undergo planned repairs,"

Nikolai Filchenkov Amphibious Ship Trukhachev said, adding that the ship will return to Sevastopol after it is unloaded next week. Western media reports last week asserted the Nikolai Filchenkov and another amphibious ship, the Caesar Kunikov, were heading to Syria, where Russia has its only naval base outside the former Soviet Union. The Russian military denied the reports. Pro-democracy protesters in Syria are fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a 15-month-old uprising which the UN says has claimed more than 12,000 lives.