Russian navy says pulling out of NATO exercise

"Minesweepers of the Baltic fleet will not participate in the Open Spirit 2008 international naval exercise in Baltic Sea waters," a naval spokesman told AFP, adding it was currently "not considered possible" to host the U.S. naval frigate Ford.,

Open Spirit is an international naval exercise held annually under the NATO "Partnership for Peace" program aimed at ridding Baltic waters of masses of unexploded ordnance left over from World War I, World War II and the Cold War.

The USS Ford was due to visit Russia’s eastern port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, home to Russia’s Pacific fleet, on September 5-9, RIA Novosti reported.

The Open Spirit exercise was due to start later this month.

The Russian announcement came as NATO foreign ministers met in Brussels to discuss their response to Russia’s invasion of Georgian territory in a fierce conflict over the South Ossetia separatist region.

Last week the United States announced it was canceling two military exercises with Russia.