Russia is deploying another batch of troops to Syria as Moscow and Washington continue to spar over the best way to resolve the worsening crisis in the country. 

The Navy said Friday it is accelerating the move of the first amphibious ready group ship to Mayport, Fla., with the USS New York now slated to arrive by the end of 2013.

The USS Iowa Jima and USS Fort McHenry will follow in 2014, with all three ships moving away from their current home in Norfolk, Va. The ships were initially set to move to Mayport by the end of 2015.

The move is the latest in a series of political battles between Norfolk and Mayport — and by extension the Virginia and Florida congressional delegations — over the home of Navy ships.

The administration sees "very positive results" from its Russia policy despite the latest tensions over Moscow's support for Syria's governmernt.

The Defense Department will limit the number of new U.S. bases in the Pacific and lean upon on bilateral security agreements to help execute the Pentagon's security strategy in the region. 

A bipartisan group of seven senators introduced a resolution condemning Moscow for aiding Syrian President Bashar Assad's government as the country faces civil war. 

Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) put forward a resolution on Thursday calling on the Russian government to stop sales of weapons to Syria, which they say are being used to kill civilians and rebels. 

"For years Russia has been arming Assad, and the United States can no longer turn a blind eye as they prop up his despicable regime and enable its murderous reign over the Syrian people," Cornyn said.  

The Defense secretary issued a video message to military gays as the Pentagon moves to commemorate Gay Pride month.

The Topline: During a rare Capitol Hill appearance on Thursday, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld used the visit to shoot holes into one of the top priorities of the department he used to represent. Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rumsfeld slammed the Pentagon's efforts to secure Senate ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty. The former Defense chief took particular offense at the treaty's mandate allowing a United Nations body to directly tax American companies. 

Rumsfeld's position put him at odds with the current heads of the Navy and Coast Guard, as well as the chiefs of two regional commands and the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. DOD argues the treaty will be a vital tool to resolve territorial disputes across the word's oceans before those disputed bubble over into open conflict. But opponents claim the treaty will hamstring Naval operations with needless oversight. In response, Rumsfeld summed up his take on the security side of the debate in typical Rummy fashion, saying: “The U.S. Navy has done quite well without it for the last 200 years.”
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Top George W. Bush administration officials were divided at a hearing on whether the U.S. should ratify the pact.

It will be later in June and comes less than a year after the repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell"