Russia seeks naval presence in Med.

Russia should have a permanent naval presence in the Mediterranean, the head of its navy said yesterday, mirroring the military ambitions of the Soviet Union.

"The Mediterranean Sea is very important strategically for the Black Sea fleet," Admiral Vladimir Masorin said during a visit to the base of the fleet in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol, RIA news agency reported.

"I propose that, with the involvement of the Northern and Baltic fleets, the Russian Navy should restore its permanent presence there."

Buoyed by huge oil revenues and with President Vladimir Putin showing increasing assertiveness, Russia has been boosting military spending while at the same time using diplomacy to broaden Moscow's influence, especially in the Middle East.

A Russian force would further extend Moscow's influence in the Middle East and it would share Mediterranean waters with the US Sixth Fleet, whose home base is in Italy.

During the Cold War, the Soviet navy had a permanent presence in the Mediterranean, using the Syrian port of Tartus as a supply point, military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer said. He said that port could be revived as a base.

"It has been the dream of our admirals for a long time to restore our naval greatness and keep the task force we had under the Soviet Union," he said.

Russia's new assertiveness has created friction and prompted some Western policymakers to make comparisons with the Cold War.

Mr Putin has said Russia would target its missiles at sites in Europe if Washington went ahead with a plan to build elements of a missile defence shield in eastern Europe. He has also suspended Russia's compliance with an arms control treaty.

Admiral Masorin did not say where the fleet would be based and a navy spokesman could not be reached for comment.

Analysts say the Russian navy is only just recovering from the under-funding of the 1990s when many sailors left the accident-prone fleet.

"We still maintain a naval station in Syria but that has been mostly standing empty because, after the break-up of the Soviet Union, the naval task force was withdrawn," Mr Felgenhauer said.

Mr Felgenhauer said Russia had so few ships it would be unlikely to tip the strategic balance in the Mediterranean.