MINSK. Aug 31 (Interfax) - Poland has not yet responded to an invitation to send observers to Belarus for a Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) exercise, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin told reporters on Thursday.
"We have sent an invitation. There has not been a response yet. The exercise will officially begin on September 1. We will see at what stage. There is still time until September 6, [which is] the final stage of the exercise. You're welcome, we are waiting for you to visit us to show our openness," Khrenin was quoted by the BelTA state-run news agency as saying.
"The main contingent is from the Belarusian Armed Forces, while there are not that many military personnel from other countries," he also said. "The exercise itself is more headquarters-based, and is held exclusively on a planned basis," Khrenin added.
Previously, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that observers from Poland had been invited to the CSTO Combat Brotherhood 2023 exercise, which will take place in Belarus in early September, "in order to avoid any insinuations about it."