MINSK, July 1. /TASS/. The decision to move the upcoming Zapad 2025 Russia-Belarus strategic drills deep into Belarusian territory was made last year and no outside pressure played any role in that, Belarus’ Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin told the republic’s First Information TV Channel on Tuesday.
"Our president never makes any decisions under any pressure whatsoever and never fears anything. The decision was made not even this year and the scenario was reported to the president last year," the defense chief stressed.
Belarus sees military drills in NATO countries that "are massive by their scope in terms of the size of troops involved" but observes them calmly, he said.
"Meanwhile, not only Ukraine but also neighboring Poland has somehow become worrisome that we allegedly pose some threat and they are going to conduct drills in response. This is their right, let them do that," he said.
The Belarusian defense minister said at a meeting of the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) Defense Ministers’ Council in Bishkek on May 28 that the scope of the Zapad 2025 strategic drills would be reduced and the basic maneuvers would move deep into Belarusian territory. The Zapad 2025 drills were initially intended to involve 13,000 troops. The Belarusian Defense Ministry reported that their size would be almost halved. The maneuvers are scheduled for mid-September.