MOSCOW, 16 February (BelTA) – The West's objections regarding the Belarus-Russia military drills the Allied Resolve are totally absurd, official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova said at a briefing for the press in Moscow on 16 February, BelTA has learned.
“Even now, even an hour ago, absurd claims were made in connection with the Belarus-Russia military drills the Allied Resolve 2022. I would like to remind you that at the briefing on 20 January, almost a month ago, we warned journalists and the general public that Western propaganda would work hard to make people believe in Russia's imminent invasion into Ukraine from the territory of Belarus,” she said.
According to Maria Zakharova, the West is using the Allied Resolve exercise as a pretext to pump Ukraine with weapons and build up NATO forces near the border with the Union State. “The events of recent weeks suggest that the purpose of this media campaign was to justify the supply of weapons to the Kyiv regime,” she stressed. “This situation can be used by Kyiv simply for suicidal aggression against Donbass. In a bid to create panic, strategists in Washington and London intimidated not only Ukrainians, but also themselves and their own citizens as they loudly announced the evacuation of diplomats from Kyiv and recommended their compatriots to leave Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova,” she added.
Speaking about the joint military drills, Maria Zakharova recalled that the drills are taking place in line with the declared plan; the detailed information about the objectives, stages, and timing of the maneuvers was announced at briefings of the defense ministries of the two countries in Minsk and Moscow, trips to the training grounds were organized for journalists. “I emphasize for the umpteenth time that foreign military attachés and representatives were invited to monitor the final stage of the drills in Belarus. Despite the absurdity of the accusations against us, we have never shied away from explaining why we want to strengthen the joint defense of the Union State,” she said.
“I am repeating it once again: we have nothing to hide, we act openly and transparently, we are ready to answer questions. The only problem is that media outlets over there [in the West] do not publish what we are saying, they are deliberately hiding our position from their own audience. We urge our partners to stop whipping up hysteria and channel their energy into a constructive direction. The real threat to security in the region is not the checks of the defense capabilities of Russia and Belarus, but the provocative steps of the West itself to build up NATO forces on the border with the Union State and pump weapons to Kyiv,” Maria Zakharova concluded.
