MINSK, 7 September (BelTA) – A media briefing for heads of diplomatic missions of other countries and international organizations, which are accredited in Belarus, will take place at the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 11 September to discuss preparations for and the actual course of the Belarusian-Russian strategic army exercise Zapad 2017, BelTA learned from Dmitry Mironchik, Head of the Information Office, Press Secretary of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
As of 7 September 47 representatives of 37 countries and international organizations have been registered as intended participants of the media briefing.
To honor its international commitments and to fulfill clear instructions of the head of state, the Belarusian side continues taking enterprising steps to make the forthcoming Belarusian-Russian strategic army exercise Zapad 2017 transparent.
Dmitry Mironchik said: “As you know, during the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation in Vienna in July a media briefing was held to inform in detail the participating states about the concept, the scenario, main goals and tasks of military exercises, their locations, forces and assets to be used. On 2 August 2017 we sent all the necessary information about the [Zapad 2017] exercise to the OSCE member states. It was also done in strict compliance with the 2011 Vienna Document on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures — at least 42 days before the start of an exercise. The Belarusian side sent invitations for observation to Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Estonia, Sweden, and Norway. Invitations were received by representatives of the military and diplomatic corps of foreign nations, who are accredited with the embassies of their nations in Belarus.”
Dmitry Mironchik remarked that although the Vienna Document does not require inviting representatives of international organizations to watch an army exercise at all, Belarus acted in good spirit to invite representatives of the United Nations Organization, the OSCE, NATO, and other international bodies to watch the active phase of the Zapad 2017 exercise.
Dmitry Mironchik also pointed out that foreign reporters were invited to send in applications for accreditation back in July. The step is stipulated by the Vienna Document.
“We are now processing an unprecedented number of applications for accreditation from foreign mass media — about 270. Applications have been received from news agencies, printed media, TV channels from all the neighboring countries as well as the UK, Germany, Denmark, Canada, Netherlands, Norway, the USA, Turkey, Finland, France, and Sweden. The army exercise will also be covered by reporters from Qatar, South Korea, and Japan,” said Dmitry Mironchik. “As far as we know, the organizers are nearly finished preparing the itinerary for reporters. Our colleagues from the Defense Ministry with assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will do their best to help the reporters do their jobs, including by organizing regular media briefings, by sending out press releases, distributing videos, and organizing broadcasts.”
The official spokesman of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed: “Like no one else Belarus is interested in bolstering security and the military and political stability in the region. Belarus honors every letter of its international legal commitments and acts in the spirit of the Vienna Document even when we have no formal obligation to do so.”
