Royal Navy personnel exchanged Hogmanay messages with their Russian counterparts in the Moray Firth last week.
Defence chiefs revealed the friendly contact between former adversaries yesterday as they confirmed that a Portsmouth-based Type 45 destroyer had completed her mission shadowing a Russian navy taskforce off Scotland.
The Press and Journal reported this week that Russia’s biggest warship, the 65,000-tonne Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, was one of the vessels anchored about 30 miles from the coast in the Moray Firth over the holiday period.
The SNP has criticised the Ministry of Defence after it took 24 hours to send the Type 45 from the south coast of England to shadow the group.
However, International Security Minister Andrew Murrison said yesterday: “The UK and Russia enjoy a good relationship and the deployment of HMS Defender, one of our newest destroyers, as fleet ready escort, underlines the Royal Navy’s modern-day utility in UK interests.”
HMS Defender’s commanding officer, Commander Phil Nash, said: “As a maritime nation the security of the seas around our coastline remain vital to our national interests. This tasking has demonstrated the Royal Navy’s enduring commitment in home waters and readiness to undertake tasking at any time of the year.
“I am extremely proud of each and every one of my sailors – they have tackled this mission with utter professionalism and dedication to duty, whilst also being separated from their families at short notice over Christmas and New Year.”