MINSK, March 18. /TASS/. The defense officials of Belarus and Russia have discussed issues of transparency for September's West-2025 joint strategic drills, Belarusian Defense Ministry’s International Military Cooperation Department head Major General Valery Revenko said.
The ministry’s press service noted that the 63rd meeting of the Joint Consultative Group on Arms Control is taking place in Minsk, bringing together both defense officials and diplomats.
"The meeting participants focused primarily on transparency regarding the West-2025 drills: whom to invite to the territories of both Belarus and Russia," the press service quoted Revenko as saying on its Telegram channel.
The senior defense official emphasized that another key issue was monitoring Ukrainian territory in the post-conflict period.
"We found constructive approaches for joint activities between Russia and Belarus on this issue," Revenko pointed out.
The sides also discussed the implementation of trust and security measures within the framework of the 2011 Vienna Document. "We compared approaches and opinions on this issue. We also discussed the regional confidence and security measures with our neighbors: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia," the Belarusian defense official said. "We will continue working to align our positions and de-escalating tensions near the Belarusian border. Our proposal to Poland regarding verification activities up to 80 kilometers inside their territory remains on the table," he stressed.
Revenko expressed confidence that, after a period of crisis and stagnation, arms control in Europe will once again become a key issue on the international agenda and a subject of legal regulation.
Earlier, Revenko stated that Belarus had informed international partners about the upcoming West-2025 joint strategic exercises with Russia and intends to invite several EU and NATO observers.