Formal visit of French frigate Commandant Birot at Russian port of Novorossiysk has been finished. The host ship was Russian seagoing minesweeper Vice Admiral Zakharyin .
During the 5-day visit, the ship’s commanding staff held meetings with the city authorities and the naval base command. Crewmen of Commandant Birot laid a wreath at the memorial on the Heroes Square, attended museum cruiser Mikhail Kutuzov , and visited Russian warships.
Servicemen of the two countries played a friendly soccer game, but none of teams managed to win; the final score was 5:5.
In accordance with the visit program, French mariners had a sightseeing tour over Novorossiysk; local schoolchildren were allowed to visit French and Russian warships for excursion.
Despite the weather becoming worse, frigate Commandant Birot left the port of Novorossiysk without any problems.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff , December 08, 2011; Image: merchantships