( Itar-Tass ) - International naval exercises of minesweepers Open Spirit 2007 begin near the port of Klaipeda, Lithuania, in the Baltic Sea this Friday.
Two minesweepers of the Russia Baltic Fleet put out to sea from Baltiisk on Thursday to participate in the manoeuvres. The commander of the Russian ships is Alexei Pasechnik, the fleet information service told Itar-Tass.
Participants in the exercises are also German, British, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Belgian, French, Norwegian, Finnish and Swedish ships.
The Open Spirit exercises are held annually beginning 1996 in waters of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in accordance with the NATO Partnership for Peace programme.
The aim of the exercises is to provide military and technical help to the Baltic countries to clear coastal waters of explosives left after the war.
Nineteen ships from ten countries and over 1,000 servicemen, including about 100 Russian navy sailors, will participate in the operation. The ships will examine the Baltic seabed in search of ammunition and master cooperation of crews and coordination in rescue operations.
Russian Baltic Fleet ships participate in the manoeuvres for the fourth time, but will operate in Lithuania's waters for the first time. During the exercises, Russian sailors found and destroyed more than 60 explosive objects in the Baltic Sea, the information service said.
According to experts, about 100,000 mines were laid in the Baltic during the first and second world wars. Besides, there are dozens of tonnes of ammunition in sunken ships on the seabed.
The Open Spirit 2007 exercises will end on September 10.