MOSCOW. Aug 24 (Interfax) - The joint Russian-Belarusian Zapad 2017 (West 2017) exercise is routine and fully transparent, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said.
"It is a regular routine joint exercise. It is not aggression as some countries see it. I do not see any point in discussing and fearing it. Everything will proceed as usual, in a transparent and friendly way," Fomin said on the air of Rossiya 24 TV channel on Thursday.
Russia has never hidden its military exercises and it conducts them in a transparent way, he said. "The Russian Defense Ministry is the most transparent defense ministry in the world. It is really so. We have not hidden a single exercise, event or training from outside eyes. We have nothing to hide," Fomin said.
Russia annually conducts dozens of exercises at various levels both on its territory and in allied countries, he said. "We always announce it. We announce the training plans, we report on the composition of personnel and equipment, the tracks, and the participants. Relevant information has also been provided to the media on Zapad 2017. In several days, we are planning a joint conference with Belarus for military attaches. We will gather everyone. We are inviting monitors, and therefore we are not hiding anything," Fomin said.
The Russian-Belarusian Zapad 2017 strategic exercise will take place on September 14-20. They are expected to involve some 13,000 people. The Zapad exercise is routine and is conducted once every two years.