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Preparations in full swing for Russia-Belarus strategic drills, says defense chief

The Zapad-2021 maneuvers are a scheduled exercise and will be held by decision of the presidents of Russia and Belarus and are solely of defensive nature, Sergey Shoigu stressed

MOSCOW, May 31. /TASS/. The preparations for the Zapad-2021 (West-2021) joint Russia-Belarus strategic military exercise scheduled for September have entered the active phase, Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu said at the ministry’s board meeting on Monday.

"The preparations for the Russian-Belarusian joint strategic exercise Zapad-2021 that will run at practice ranges of Belarus and the Western Military District have entered the active phase. A series of command and staff drills involving the staffs of various levels have already been held," the defense chief said.

Beginning from June, the Defense Ministries of Russia and Belarus will start "accomplishing a set of tasks as part of the joint drills of special operations forces," Shoigu said.

The Zapad-2021 maneuvers are a scheduled exercise and will be held by decision of the presidents of Russia and Belarus and are solely of defensive nature, the Russian defense minister stressed.

"Our partners will be informed within the time limits stipulated in international treaties about the parameters of the exercise while international observers and journalists will be able to attend it," Shoigu said.

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