MOSCOW, 21 September (BelTA) – The campaign launched by Western mass media against the Belarusian-Russian strategic army exercise Zapad 2021 was an orchestrated one. Spokeswoman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova made the statement as she commented on publications about alleged violations of the 2011 Vienna Document on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures at a mass media briefing on 21 September, BelTA has learned.
According to Maria Zakharova, the campaign against the Belarusian-Russian army exercise Zapad 2021 definitely proceeded under some common oversight not only in mass media but in public statements of official representatives of NATO member states at various events where they actively discussed the alleged violations of the 2011 Vienna Document on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures during the Belarusian-Russian strategic army exercise Zapad 2021. The Western accusations included the concealing and misrepresentation of information about the scale of the exercise, violation of the threshold that is stipulated by the 2011 Vienna Document and requires notifying foreign powers.
According to Maria Zakharova, Russia has repeatedly emphasized its full compliance with the 2011 Vienna Document on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures. The spokeswoman said Russia ensures the necessary transparency of military activities in its territory and during events involving allied states. In particular, the necessary mass media briefings had been held ahead of the Zapad 2021 exercise by the Belarusian Defense Ministry and the Russian one. Information was presented at the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation in Vienna. Parameters and progress of the exercise were covered by mass media in detail. Foreign diplomats, who are accredited in Moscow, were also invited to watch the exercise, Maria Zakharova said.
The official stressed that the maximum number of military personnel that were deployed for the exercise under one operational command that falls within the scope of the 2011 Vienna Document had not exceeded 6,400 people in Russia's territory. The figure was way below the threshold that requires notifications about military activities. “Those, who are trying to cast doubts on the number, should once again carefully read the 2011 Vienna Document to find out what forces it applies to,” the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman stressed.
“Unfortunately, we don't see the same kind of openness on the part of NATO. Long ago NATO embraced the practice of splitting its exercises into individual stages in order to dodge the notification threshold although these training stages have the same operational context and involve the same assets under the aegis of NATO member states or the U.S. armed forces in Europe,” Maria Zakharova stated.
