Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 19 September (BelTA) – The assessment of the Zapad 2017 army exercise in the CIS is univocal, Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee - CIS Executive Secretary Sergei Lebedev told the media on 19 September, BelTA has learned.

“The Commonwealth of Independent States has a clear and univocal assessment of the exercise,” Sergei Lebedev stressed. In his words, Zapad 2017 is a scheduled exercise which, as has been repeatedly stated, does not bear any threat for the neighboring and other states. “This hysteria (and this is our common position) is artificial. The exercise is aimed at strengthening the defensive capacity of the corresponding states and the CIS in general. Both Russia and Belarus are the states that represent an important element of the CIS defensive capacity,” the chairman of the CIS Executive Committee said.

Sergei Lebedev also stressed that a lot of international experts, military attaches from different countries had been invited to attend the exercise. “I am confident (proceeding from the information we have been receiving about the ongoing exercise) the combat efficiency of the armies of our states and the CIS will be enhanced. We advocate for peace and are ready for peaceful cooperation, including in the military area,” Sergei Lebedev said.