Russia is clearing its citizens out of Syria while sending two warships to the waters off Syria’s Mediterranean coast.  Hopefully, that not anywhere near as scary as it seems.

Russia's Navy Commander Admiral Viktor Chirkov had already announced two months ago that a missile cruiser would be deployed to the Mediterranean by the end of 2013. 

Interfax news agency says that’s been moved up.  The missile cruiser and an anti-submarine ship would arrive in the coming days because of the “well-known situation” - a clear reference to the conflict in Syria.

State-run RIA Novosti news agency cited a high-ranking representative of the naval command who said the changes to the country's forces in the region were not linked to the current tensions over Syria and called them “a planned rotation.”

The reason for the discrepancy in the two reports was not immediately clear.

Meanwhile, more than 100 Russian civilians have been evacuated out of Syria in two planeloads and are returning to Russia.