Kavkaz-2009 strategic military exercise draws to completion.

MOSCOW, July 6 (Itar-Tass) - The Kavkaz-2009 strategic military
exercise will end in southern Russia on Monday. It has involved the troops
of the North Caucasian military district as well as some arms and services
of the Russian Armed Forces.

Lieutenant Colonel Andrei Bobrun, the chief of the information and
public relations service of the North Caucasian military district, said
that the drill would make it possible to assess the real state of combat
and mobilization readiness of forces stationed in the southwestern region
of Russia.
Bobrun said that the maneuvers had begun on June 29 under the command
of General Nikolai Makarov, the head of the General Staff of the Russian
Armed Forces. During the exercise the troops didn't only train but carried
out combat tasks to destroy real terrorists.
"Apart from the troops of the North Caucasian military district the
Kavkaz-2009 also involved air force and anti-aircraft units, the Caspian
flotilla, troops from the Novorossiisk naval base, the regional border
department of the Federal Security Service for the Southern Federal
District, the North Caucasian command of the internal troops of the
Russian Interior Ministry and the airborne troops," Bobrun clarified.
About 8,500 people took part in the exercise. About 200 tanks, 450
armored vehicles, up to 250 artillery guns of various caliber and more
than 30 warplanes and helicopters were mobilized for the maneuvers.
The exercise was held in the territories of the Krasnodar and
Stavropol territories, the Astrakhan, Volgograd and Rostov regions, the
Republics of North Ossetia-Alaniya, Ingushetia and Dagestan as well as
Chechnya and the Karachay-Cherkess Republic.
"During the exercise a wide spectrum of adequate military measures was
carried out to ensure the security of Russian citizens and the safety of
transport facilities, energy communications and strategic objects as well
as measures aimed at protecting Russia's economic interests," the
representative of the North Caucasian military district said.

.Patriarch Kirill to sanctify an Orthodox church in Istanbul.

ISTANBUL, July 6 (Itar-Tass) - The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
Kirill will on Monday sanctify a Russian church on the bank of the
Bosphorous. The old Church of St. Constantine and Elena will become the
first active church of the Moscow Patriarchy in Turkey. It is situated in
the territory of a country residence belonging to the Russian consulate in
Istanbul.
"The Church of St. Constantine and Elena was built in 1832 under
Emperor Nicholas I and was open until 1925," the Russian General Consul in
Istanbul Alexander Krivenko told Itar-Tass.
"Some three years ago the church building housed a boiling room, a
pumping station, tanks for storing kerosene, etc. The Moscow Patriarchy
carried out overhaul repairs of the church. The Russian consulate repaired
another seven facilities in the territory of the country residence. So,
the entire complex looks decent now," Krivenko went on to say.
After the consecration Patriarch Kirill will leave Istanbul for
Ankara. There, he will meet Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and the
head of the Department for Religious Affairs Dr. Ali Badrak Oglu.
The talks are expected to dwell on questions of pilgrimage to
Christian holy sites located in the territory of modern Turkey and
prospects of organizing pastoral direction for Orthodox believers residing
in Turkey. Dialogue among representatives of various religions will also
be a topic for discussion.
According to Dr. Badrak Oglu, who has moderate religious views,
representatives of various confessions - the Muslims, Christians and Jews
- should have the right to freely express their convictions.
Patriarch Kirill will leave Ankara for Moscow late on Monday.

.President Obama departs for Moscow.

WASHINGTON, July 6 (Itar-Tass) -- U.S. President Barrack Obama has
departed for Moscow. His plane took off at 05:00 a.m. Moscow time on
Monday.
Obama and his wife Michelle are expected to arrive in the Russian
capital on Monday afternoon. First, they will lay a wreath at the Grave of
an Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin wall. After that Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev will receive Obama in the Kremlin. The two leaders will
give a joint news conference after the talks.
On Monday evening, Barrack and Michelle Obama plan to meet the staff
of the U.S. embassy in Moscow.

.'Rokot' rocket booster lifts off from Plesetsk.

MOSCOW, July 6 (Itar-Tass) -- A 'Rokot' rocket booster was launched
from Plesetsk at 05:26 Moscow time. It will put three military satellites
in orbit.