Turkey to take part in annual NATO drill in Baltic Sea
Flags of NATO members flap in the wind outside the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 28, 2020. (AP Photo)


The Turkish military will participate in an annual NATO multinational military exercise in the Baltic Sea next month.

"Fourteen NATO Allies, two NATO partner nations, over 45 ships, more than 75 aircraft, and approximately 7,000 personnel will participate in the 51st iteration of the premier maritime-focused exercise from June 5-17," NATO said in a statement on Saturday.

Among the participants will be Turkey, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States, it added.

Meanwhile, Finland and Sweden, which both recently applied to join the military alliance, will also participate in the drill as NATO partner nations.

"They will exercise a myriad of capabilities demonstrating the inherent flexibility of maritime forces," it noted.

This year, Sweden will host the BALTOPS 22 exercise, which was initiated for the first time in 1972.

"BALTOPS is an annual exercise that visibly demonstrates NATO's commitment to preserving regional peace and security by exercising a team of international forces that can rapidly respond in a time of crisis," NATO said.