Belarus plays down Western fears over Russian war games
Western leaders have cited fears the Zapad war games could be a preparation for the occupation of Russia’s neighbours in Eastern Europe.
Jet fighters releases flares during the Zapad 2017 war games at a range near the town of Borisov, Belarus September 20, 2017.
Belarus said on Wednesday the West had no reason to fear attack by Russia, or that Moscow could leave behind forces after war games it is holding with Minsk.
Russia has repeatedly said the exercises, code named "Zapad", or "West", which began on September 14, are purely defensive in nature and do not target a third country or group of countries.
NATO has voiced concern that Moscow could use the war games as a cover to station troops and equipment in Belarus. The US-led alliance has said the drills lack transparency and the number of troops taking part could be much larger than the 12,700 servicemen declared by Moscow and Minsk.
The Russians say no more than 13,000 soldiers are taking part, Western officials say the drills are the largest since the end of the Cold War.
Russia's neighbours have said they fear Moscow could use the exercises as a rehearsal for an occupation of adjacent nations like Poland, Ukraine or the three Baltic republics – all of which were under Moscow's rule before the Communist Soviet Union broke up in 1991.
Poland and the Baltics are now members of NATO and the European Union, while Ukraine is pursuing such ties.
"The attempt to discredit the exercises is extremely unprofessional," said Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko dressed in camouflage uniform as supreme commander attends the Zapad 2017 war games at a range near the town of Borisov, Belarus, September 20, 2017.
"We won't wage war on anyone. Do not expect any attack from us – especially on Ukraine," he told reporters at a firing range 75 km (47 miles) east of Belarus's capital Minsk after overseeing the last day of Zapad manoeuvres.
"All the troops will be back to the sites of their permanent deployment," he said. "In a week, this issue will become irrelevant."
On an overcast and rainy day, he watched from a vantage point as allied troops of Russia and Belarus repelled a simulated attack by forces of three fictitious neighbouring nations on Belarus. Aircraft zeroed in on ground targets after mock dogfighting, after which a ground offensive unfolded.
Eastern European concerns
Hours earlier, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė made the exercises the centrepiece of her annual speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
"Even as we speak, around 100,000 Russian troops are engaged in offensive military exercise 'Zapad 2017' on the borders of the Baltic States, Poland and even in the Arctic," she said.
"The Kremlin is rehearsing aggressive scenarios against its neighbours, training its army to attack the West. The exercise is also part of information warfare aimed at spreading uncertainty and fear."
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite addresses the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, US, September 19, 2017.
The Kremlin said on Wednesday it had provided exhaustive information on the exercises before they were held to the military attaches of all interested countries and allowed their observers to attend the event to allay any concerns.
"I think that upon receiving this information Ms Grybauskaite will have a chance to change her point of view," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo also voiced disquiet at the exercises and said Warsaw opposed any lifting of Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region and role in its separatist conflict.
"We are very concerned by what is happening in Belarus, from the exercises there," Szydlo said during a visit to Bulgaria.
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