BAKU -- Russian, Kazakh, and Iranian naval vessels are in Baku ahead of a four-nation "competition" that is to be held off Azerbaijan's coast in the Caspian Sea from August 1-11.
The small missile ship Grad Sviyazhsk and rescue tugboat from Russia's Caspian Flotilla arrived on July 23 to participate in Sea Cup-2017 war games.
On July 22, the Iranian missile boats Peikan and Joshan, the Kazakh rocket-artillery ships Qazaqstan and Saryarqa, and the Kazakh hydrographic vessel Zhaiyq sailed in.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on July 23 that the Caspian nations' vessels will compete at hitting small targets at sea and air targets and neutralizing buoyant mines.
The other country with a Caspian Sea shoreline, Turkmenistan, is not taking part.