MOSCOW, July 15 (Itar-Tass) - The ongoing military manoeuvres in the Russian Far East are not muscle flexing but a step towards better combat readiness, Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov said on Monday, July 15 at a meeting with foreign military attaches accredited in Moscow.
“Everything we do in the Russian Armed Forces, including combat readiness checks, is not an attempt to show our muscles. These are elements of daily, meticulous and well calculated work to improve the combat readiness of our Armed Forces,” Antonov said.
He noted that Russia “has shown maximum openness” during the current surprise combat readiness drill. Several hours prior to the start of the exercises, Russia had informed its Far Eastern neighbours thereof. “We provided additional information to our friends in China because we have special agreements with them on military activities in the border region,” Antonov said.
A notice was also sent to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) although the “region where the exercises are taking place is outside the scope of the Organisation’s agreements.”
Information about the manoeuvres has also been provided to mass media, several TV crews are covering the event, and the Foreign Ministry promptly posts updates on its official website.
Antonov asked the military attaches to “use these data to provide the defence ministers of your countries with objective information.”
He reiterated Russia’s readiness to “cooperate in providing you with all necessary data that you may need for reporting correct information to your defence ministries.”
Antonov stressed that the manouevres are “taking place in strict compliance with the obligations assumed by Russia earlier with regard to other states and are not aimed against them.”
Explaining the need for the large-scale exercises in the Far East, Antonov said: “The Russian army must be able to act and be ready to respond to any threat from terrorist groups to attempts to violate Russia’s sovereignty.”