Moscow, May 17 (RIA Novosti) The Russian Navy will participate in a large-scale submarine rescue exercise conducted by the NATO, a navy spokesman said.

The Bold Monarch 2008 exercise will be staged near the Norwegian coast from May 26 to June 7. The Russian Navy is participating for the first time in a NATO-led naval exercise.

Support personnel and equipment from Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Britain and the US will be engaged 'to solve complex rescue and medical problems in a variety of scenarios'.

Russia will send the Georgy Titov deep-sea rescue ship from the Northern Fleet to join the exercise, Igor Dygalo said.

'The purpose of the exercise is to ensure compatibility of rescue equipment used by the Russian Navy and the navies of NATO countries.

It will also demonstrate the ability to coordinate cooperative efforts during escape and rescue missions,' he said.