All news

Latvia to send observers to monitor Russian-Belarusian strategic military drills

The West 2017 joint strategic drills are scheduled for September 14-20

RIGA, August 17. /TASS/. Latvia will commission three observers to monitor the West 2017 Russian-Belarusian military drills in September, the Latvian foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

According to the ministry, an official invitation for two monitors came from Belarus. Russia invited Latvia’s military attache in Moscow, which is seen in Riga as a positive gesture.

"The Foreign Ministry hopes that the monitors will be able to have adequate and complete information about the drills and stresses that during military drills Latvia and its allies focus special attention on their transparency and in compliance with the Vienna Document of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe they provide exhaustive information and invite foreign monitors," the ministry said.

The West 2017 Russian-Belarusian joint strategic drills are scheduled for September 14-20. They will involve about 13,000 servicemen and up to 680 units of hardware. Some Western countries have voiced concern over these exercises.