Moscow: Russia has claimed that its missile early warning system has detected the launch of two missiles from the central part of the Mediterranean Sea fired towards the Sea’s eastern coastline.

The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (above) and four other ships in its strike group moved into the Red Sea on Monday

The launches took place at 10:16 am Moscow time (0616 GMT) and were detected by the ballistic missile early warning system in Armavir in southern Russia, the defence ministry said in a statement quoted by Russian news agencies.

It said defence minister Sergei Shoigu had already reported to President Vladimir Putin about the event, which comes amid growing expectations of Western military action in Syria.

However the Russian embassy in Syria said there was no sign of a missile attack or of explosions in Damascus, and the Israeli military said it was “not aware” of any missile launch in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Russia had earlier criticised the United States on Tuesday for sending warships close to Syria, saying the deployments would exacerbate tension as Washington prepares for a possible military strike.