BAKU. Nov 20 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called NATO's fears about the Zapad 2017 exercise "fake," noting that none of them proved to be true.
"They invented [the idea] that the Russian-Belarusian Zapad 2017 exercise was preparation for aggression against the Baltic states, that Russia wants to conquer Belarus this way and will not withdraw troops from there. None of that has proved true," Lavrov said during a speech at the Azerbaijani Diplomatic Academy in Baku on Monday.
All of these accusations have turned out to be "fake," Lavrov said.
Minsk with Moscow's assistance invited all observers who wanted to monitor the Russian-Belarussian exercise, he said.
"Nevertheless, the contingents that were drawn there [to the western borders of Belarus] under the pretext of neutralizing the threat posed by the Zapad 2017 exercise now remain there," Lavrov said, referencing U.S., Canadian, German and British army units.
"And they told us it's not permanent deployment, but rotation, rotation that will be permanent," Lavrov said.