Controversial Russian-American joint military exercises previously delayed by nationalist opposition are likely to take place in September in the Ural mountains, the president's office said Friday.


"It's hard to say anything is 100 percent sure today, but that's our proposal for now," said Vladimir Alexandrov, a spokesman for President Boris Yeltsin.


"They were delayed because of a discussion of whether or not it is worthwhile to conduct such exercises," he continued. "Now we have decided that such joint Russian-American activity is necessary, in part, because of the struggle against international terrorism."


The exercises, supposed to be one in a series of expanded U.S-Russian bilateral activities, ignited a storm of nationalist protest after they were announced earlier this year. Some hardliners saw them as a sign of U.S. hegemony over Russia.


Yeltsin then agreed to delay the maneuvers which were in any case limited to just 250 soldiers from each country. A group of leading senators visiting Moscow in late May proposed that the U.S. host the exercises to overcome the controversy, but Yeltsin did not approve the idea.


A spokesman for the U.S army in Europe said he could not confirm the exact dates, but said that a team of U.S. experts is expected to arrive in Russia next week to work on logistics.