Russia is not obliged to warn about such exercises, but has done so for 'transparency': Shoigu

The Russian Ministry of Defense has sent a notification to the military attaché of other countries regarding the conduct of the Russian-Belarusian joint exercises 'Allied Resolve 2022,' said the head of the department, Sergey Shoigu. According to Shoigu, Russia is not obliged to warn about such exercises but has done so for the sake of 'transparency.'

From February 10 to 20, the 'Allied Resolve 2022' joint exercises will take place at five Belarusian training grounds. 'During the exercises, issues related to ensuring the military security of the union state and countering terrorism will be addressed,' said Shoigu.

The minister emphasized that the parties are not required to inform foreign partners about the exercises, but the Ministry of Defense has done this within the framework of 'voluntary transparency.'

Shoigu highlighted that the number of participants and the main systems of weapons involved in the exercises does not exceed the parameters established by the 2011 Vienna Document, which does not obligate Russia and Belarus to inform foreign partners about the events being held.

It is worth noting that earlier, marines and artillery units from the Eastern Military District and the Pacific Fleet arrived in Belarus to participate in the exercises. At the end of January, Russia completed the transfer of Su-35 aircraft from the Khabarovsk region to Belarus.