When choosing them, the range from the border. This was during a briefing told the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Oleg Belokonev.
- In determining the areas of practical actions by the troops, in order to exclude tension in relations with neighboring countries, we deliberately preferred a range located at a considerable distance from the state border, Major General Belokonev.
The exercises will be held at the sites Ruzhansky, Domanovo, Osipovichi, Borisov, Lepel and Lesvido. And also - on the sites of the Glubokoe and Dretun in the Vitebsk region.
We must understand what was meant, in the first place, the Ukrainian border.
The chief of the General Staff said that he did not understand the excitement associated with the teachings, conjectures and fears of neighboring countries. And he stressed once again that for their part they do not consider NATO exercises that are held several times a year in neighboring countries, a threat to the national security of Belarus.
- From 2009 to 2014, NATO annually conducted 41 exercises. In 2015 - 76, in 2016 - 83, this is planned 85 exercises. The Republic of Belarus does not see this as a threat to national security and we treat it adequately, "Belokonev stressed..
The Chief of the General Staff also said that in the Baltic and Poland advanced NATO centers have been set up, the number of military and technical equipment in them is constantly increasing.
- At the western borders of Belarus from 25 to 40 thousand people, the strength of NATO's priority involvement has been increased. Four multinational battalion tactical groups of the bloc are given full operational readiness. In Poland deployed a tank brigade of the United States. The total number of only foreign military contingents is about 8 thousand troops, 72 tanks, about 250 armored combat vehicles, 16 self-propelled howitzers and 17 helicopters. Actively, replacing one another, NATO exercises are being conducted, during which the questions of the use of troops in the immediate vicinity of the state border of Belarus. That is, in other words, we are going to master the new theater of military operations. The number of exercises in the region doubled, and the number of troops involved - 4 times. But there is no excitement on our part about this.
Belokonev said that Belarus complies with all international obligations to conduct exercises. In the country, 80 international observers were invited to monitor them.
"Regardless of the tendentious agitation created around the exercises, Belarus strictly observes all its obligations under international and regional treaties on disarmament, strengthening of security within the framework of the UN and OSCE. About the exercises, we notified in late 2016, - explained Belokonev.
The Ministry of Defense expects the arrival of two military observers from Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Ukraine, Estonia, Sweden and Norway.
- These observers will be granted the right to a wider range of visits to all training grounds where practical exercises of troops.
Belarusian Partisan.