MOSCOW, September 10. /TASS/. The upcoming Zapad-2021military exercise is not aimed against anyone, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in the wake of the talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko Thursday.

"We also discussed the matters of building of a single defense spaces and security of the Union State’s outer perimeter," Putin said.

"In this context, we paid significant attention [to joint military exercises], and the upcoming Zapad-2021 joint exercises have high importance. These exercises are not aimed against anyone," the Russian leader underscored.

He explained that holding joint exercises is "logical at a time, when other alliances, such as NATO, actively ramp up their presence near the borders of the Union State and the CSTO.".