The Russian missile cruiser Moskva will...

The flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, which left the port of the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol on April 9, has crossed the Suez Canal and is en route to the Indian Ocean to join other Russian warships for large-scale naval exercises.

The Moskva, a Slava-class missile cruiser with anti-aircraft and ASW capability, is to team up with the Pyotr Veliky nuclear-powered missile cruiser from Russia"s Northern Fleet, which recently arrived in Syria"s Mediterranean port of Tartus ahead of the drills.

Russia announced in 2007 that it was building up its naval presence throughout the world.

A Russian Pacific Fleet task force, comprised of the Marshal Shaposhnikov, an Udaloy class missile destroyer, a salvage tug and a tanker, is currently on an anti-piracy mission off the Somali coast.

MOSCOW, April 19 (RIA Novosti)