Opinions & Interviews

No response from Poland to invitation to send observers to watch CSTO exercise in Belarus

Viktor Khrenin

MINSK, 31 August (BelTA) – Poland has not responded yet to the invitation to send observers to Belarus in order to watch the forthcoming Collective Security Treaty Organization exercise, BelTA learned from Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin.

Viktor Khrenin said: “We’ve sent the invitation. There is no response so far. The exercise begins on 1 September. Let’s see at what stage. There is still time till 6 September, till the last stage of the exercise. Feel free to come over. We are ready to show our openness.”

The defense minister remarked that that the exercise will take place in several military training areas in Belarus’ territory. Most of the troops will be sent by the Belarusian army. Not a lot of military personnel will come from other countries. The exercise itself will focus primarily on staff matters and such exercises are held strictly according to plans. “You can look them up for ten years ahead,” Viktor Khrenin stressed.

“Everything has been declared and demonstrated: how many participants, which military training areas will be used. We train our military personnel, our army how to respond to possible risks and threats,” the defense minister said.

Speaking about the ongoing agitation regarding the forthcoming military exercise, Viktor Khrenin noted that opponents pursue their own agenda.

BelTA reported earlier that at the session of the Security Council held on 31 August Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko stated that Belarus had invited Poland’s representatives to observe the Collective Security Treaty Organization exercise Combat Brotherhood 2023, which will begin in Brest Oblast on 1 September.

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