Zapad 2017
Zapad 2017 is a planned joint military exercise of the integrated armed forces of the Russian Federation and Belarus (the Union State) scheduled for 14—20 September 2017, to be held in Belarus and Russia′s Kaliningrad oblast. According to the information made publicly available by Defence Ministry of Belarus Andrei Ravkov in July 2017,[1] fewer than 13,000 personnel of the Union State are to take part in the military maneuvers. Western analysts believed in late July 2017 that the total number of Russian troops, security personnel and civilian officials to be involved in the broader war-games will range from 60,000 to 100,000 ,[2] which would make them Russia′s largest since the Cold War.[3]
General information
The Zapad military drills is a scheduled activity that was meant to be held on alternate years, alternately in Russia and Belarus, pursuant to the agreement reached by presidents of the Russia and Belarus in September 2009[4].
CSTO, EEU, CIS and NATO representatives have been invited as observers to Zapad-2017[5][6]. Also, the Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko invited the U.S. delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe[7]. In mid-July 2017, in Vienna, Major-General Pavel Muraveiko, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus, was to give a briefing on Zapad-2017[8].
It is expected that Russia′s 1st Guards Tank Army that was reconstituted in 2014 will take part in the exercise.[2] Its task is to establish a forward command post in western Belarus, and to hold exercises in training areas near the city of Brest.[2]
Reaction of the NATO
Months prior to Zapad 2017, NATO member countries′ officials sounded their concern.[2][9] In July 2017, U.S. military officials expressed their suspicion that the maneuvers might be used as a pretext to increase Russia’s military presence in Belarus.[2]
On 20 June 2017, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg answering a question about the exercise said: ″We are going to follow and monitor the Zapad exercise area here closely, and all nations have the right to exercise their forces but it is important that nations, be it Belarus or Russia, exercise their forces that they do that in accordance with well established guidelines and agreements and international obligations and we have something called the Vienna document which outlines how exercises have to be notified and be subject to international inspections and we call on Russia and also Belarus to do that in accordance with the Vienna document so that we have transparency, predictability related to Zapad 2017. We are also working in the framework of the NATO-Russia Council to have more transparency, predictability, connected to military posture but also exercises, and that is always important but especially important now when we see more military presence along our borders in this region. It’s even more important to have transparency, international observation of exercises like Zapad.″[10]
On their part, Russia and Belarus maintain that Zapad 2017 is a scheduled event of strictly defensive nature.[11]
References
- ^ "Глава Минобороны Белоруссии: учение "Запад-2017" не направлено против третьих стран". ТАСС (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-07-17.
- ^ a b c d e "Russia's Military Drills Near NATO Border Raise Fears of Aggression". The New York Times. 2017-07-31.
- ^ Russia Plans Huge Zapad 2017 Military Exercises With Belarus NBC NEWS, 2 August 2017.
- ^ "Дмитрий Медведев и Президент Белоруссии Александр Лукашенко наблюдали заключительный этап оперативно-стратегических учений «Запад-2009»". Президент России. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
- ^ "Столтенберг поприветствовал приглашение Россией наблюдателей НАТО на "Запад-2017"". РИА Новости (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-06-28.
- ^ «Если натовцы хотят — милости просим». Лукашенко предложил допустить наблюдателей НАТО на совместные учения с Россией
- ^ "Лукашенко пригласил американскую делегацию ОБСЕ на учения «Запад-2017»". Белновости. 2017-07-10. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
{{cite news}}: zero width joiner character in|title=at position 71 (help) - ^ "Замначальника Генштаба ВС Беларуси во время форума ОБСЕ проведет брифинг на тему учений "Запад-2017"". Белорусское телеграфное агентство (in Russian). 2017-07-12. Retrieved 2017-07-15.
- ^ Грибаускайте назвала учения «Запад-2017» подготовкой к войне
- ^ "Joint press point with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė". NATO. 2017-06-20.
- ^ "Глава военного ведомства России генерал армии Сергей Шойгу провел в Калининграде выездное заседание Коллегии Министерства обороны : Министерство обороны Российской Федерации". function.mil.ru. 2017-06-21.