September 25, 2005:
Russia has joined the counter-terrorism naval
patrol force in the Mediterranean. Most of this work involves
patrolling the Straits of Gibraltar, monitoring traffic and looking for
suspicious activity. This is called Operation Active Endeavor. Russia
is able to participate because it is spending more money on its navy,
and is sending ships to sea more often. Russia is also concerned about
Islamic terrorists using merchant ships for movements or attacks.