The joint visit comes four months after the sinking of the South Korean Navy ship, Cheonan, which killed 46 sailors on board.

"In November, the Mistral helicopter carrier will arrive on a visit to St. Petersburg, " the first deputy chief of the Navy general staff, Oleg Burtsev, told the news agency.

Rogozin says visits to Russia by senior NATO military officials will be suspended, NATO naval vessels will not be allowed to visit Russian ports, and joint military exercises will be halted.