MOSCOW, May 5. /TASS/. The current crisis in Europe and the wish to maintain the army’s readiness at the proper level are the main reasons for the snap check of the Belarusian rapid reaction force and the following exercise, the head of the Russian International Affairs Council, Andrey Kortunov, told TASS on Thursday.

"We know the official position of the Belarusian leadership on this issue. The exercise is part and parcel of the armed forces’ training program," he said. "The factor of the current situation is unmistakably present. The point at issue is how well the Belarusian rapid reaction forces can respond to critical situations near the country’s borders."

From the standpoint of training the personnel such exercises certainly do make sense, but in view of the ongoing crisis in Europe "the Western neighbors of Belarus will certainly interpret them as a provocation and a message to the West." Some neighbors may even regard it as a threat.

"Shattering fears and refuting different interpretations will be rather difficult," Kortunov said.

Asked how long the Belarusian exercise might last, the expert drew attention to the main purpose of the drills - verification of the army’s condition and its ability to respond to crises. In other words, combat readiness will be estimated and certain lessons derived.

"I do not think that this exercise will last long. Possibly, this is not the last exercise. Some other methods of training may be employed," Kortunov said.

"It goes without saying that in the context of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine and general tensions Belarus will seek to maintain its combat readiness at the highest level possible," Kortunov said.

Belarusian exercise

Belarus began a snap check of its rapid reaction force on May 4. Military units will practice alert, redeployment to the designated areas and various combat training tasks. The Defense Ministry said the purpose of the exercise was to verify the personnel’s readiness to promptly respond to crises. No likely dates when the snap check will end have been mentioned.

Earlier, the Defense Ministry said that a large-scale multi-national exercise Defender Europe 2022 will be conducted at proving grounds and training centers of 19 European countries on May 1-27. Alongside Defender Europe 2022 NATO forces are to conduct the Swift Response 2022 exercise in Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia and Norway. Slovakia’s armed forces will hold the Slovak Shield 2022 exercise at the Lest military training center.