ESTONIA’S NAVAL FLEET BECOMING OPERATIONAL.

Germany yesterday handed over gratis to Estonia a minesweeper, built in 1967 and recently overhauled, and is about to contribute a second such vessel. The renamed Olev and Kalev, which will join the flagship Sulev, are turning Estonia’s fleet into an operational force, said fleet commander Cpt. Roland Leit during the handover ceremony at Germany’s Olpenitz naval base. The Estonian sailors are being trained in Germany. The fleet’s mission centers on minesweeping as part of the planned Baltic joint naval force, Baltron. (BNS, June 19)

Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan Look Westward.