VISBY, Sweden. May 7 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia's naval exercise in the Baltics this summer are not of an aggressive nature, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Tuesday.
"Warships of the Baltic Fleet, and probably several vessels from the Northern Fleet, will participate in the exercises in the southern part of the Baltic Sea in late June. This exercise will not be of an aggressive nature," Ivanov said at a news conference after a meeting with the Nordic defense ministers in the Swedish city of Visby.
"The exercises will be transparent, predictable and focused on what fleets and the armed forces in general must do, i.e., military training," Ivanov said.
Swedish Defense Minister Leni Bjorklund urged Russia to participate more actively in NATO's Partnership for Peace program.