MOSCOW, Feb. 3 - The guided missile frigate USS Ramage (DDG-61) and the command ship USS Mt. Whitney with 600 marines deployed aboard have come to the Black Sea, a military diplomat told Interfax-AVN on Monday.

"The frigate USS Ramage and the flag ship of the U.S. Sixth Fleet, the USS Mt. Whitney, have arrived in the Black Sea. They have passed through the Dardanelles and Bosporus Straits lately with Turkish consent. More than 600 U.S. marines are stationed aboard the ships," the source said.