MOSCOW, January 12. /TASS/. Russia will go ahead with military exercises in its territory and there is no link between troop movements and talks with the West, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media, when asked if there was some link between exercises in the Western Military Region and the security guarantee talks with the United States and NATO.
"No, there is no link at all. There are our forces and our military regions in the territory of our country involved. There have been military exercises, there are military exercises and there will be more military exercises. This is standard practice for any armed forces," the Kremlin spokesman said.
The Western Military Region’s press-service told the media on Tuesday that about 3,000 troops had begun combat training at general purpose proving grounds in the Voronezh, Belgorod, Bryansk and Smolensk regions.
Russian-US consultations on security guarantees ended in Geneva on January 10. On Wednesday, the Russia-NATO Council is meeting in session in Brussels. And on January 13, security guarantees for Russia will be on the agenda of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna.
On December 17, 2021, the Russian Foreign Ministry made public drafts of a treaty with the United States on security guarantees and of an agreement on measures to maintain the security of Russia and NATO member-states.