MINSK, January 31. /TASS/. The ending tactical flight exercise of the regional Russian-Belarussian group of forces was exclusively defensive and not directed against other countries, the Secretary of Belarus' Security Council, Alexander Volfovich, has said. On Tuesday, he watched the active phase of the exercise at the Ruzhansky training ground in the Brest region.
"The exercise was exclusively defensive in nature and not directed against anyone. It confirmed Belarus' policy of strengthening international security and demonstrated the determination of the regional group of forces to protect the borders of the Union State," the BelTA news agency quotes Volfovich as saying. The exercise was a routine one and carried out in line with international requirements for transparency. It has been widely covered in the media.
Volfovich stressed that during the exercises, the command-and-control units showed high coherence. "The command and control bodies, as well as Belarusian and Russian pilots demonstrated great cohesion and coordination. They successfully completed all tasks shoulder to shoulder," he added.
Volfovich pointed to the difficult military-political situation near the Belarusian borders.
"The NATO group in Eastern Europe has about 34,000 servicemen. The aviation group of the United States and the alliance’s other countries in the European zone has more than 2,200 combat aircraft, including more than 140 in Poland and the Baltic countries," he said. Reconnaissance flights continue in the airspace of neighboring European states. "Various kinds of provocations have been taking place. The militarization of neighboring countries is proceeding at a high pace."
The exercises of Russian and Belarusian aviation units have been held in Belarus from January 16 to February 1 with the aim of improving interoperability. All airfields and training grounds of the Belarussian Air Force and Air Defense Force were involved.