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Russia, NATO conduct joint exercise in Mediterranean

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MOSCOW, February 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russian and NATO naval forces have carried out a joint training exercise in the Mediterranean Sea, a spokesman for Russia's Black Sea Fleet said Wednesday.

A Russian naval group from the Black Sea Fleet and a NATO naval group practiced an inspection of a detained vessel and a cargo transfer operation, the spokesman said.

"A mock inspection was conducted aboard the UK destroyer HMS Nottingham. The sides also practiced transferring impounded cargo from ship to ship," he said.

The program Operation Active Endeavor began at the end of last week, and the Russian naval group will proceed with a combat duty tour after its completion.

During the first day of the exercise, Black Sea Fleet and NATO ships rehearsed joint maneuvering, communication protocol, and countering air and seaborne attacks.

Speaking last week, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said the goal of the joint exercise was to practice coordination between NATO and Russian ships in the fight against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the illegal arms trade, and illegal migration.

Ivanov said the group would return to its home port of Sevastopol in Ukraine's Crimea in two or three months, after visiting Tartus, a Syrian port on the Mediterranean.

Ivanov also said he was planning to meet with his Italian counterpart in the port of Messina in Sicily.

At a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) last November, a joint plan for 2006 was approved, including 42 events designed to enhance the interoperability of Russian and NATO forces.

The NRC was established in May 2002 as a forum to advance relations between the 26 NATO members and Russia, and to identify and pursue opportunities for joint action on strategic priorities and common security challenges.

The decision to establish the NRC came following the September 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S.

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