MINSK, September 12. /TASS/. Poland, Latvia and Lithuania rejected Belarus' invitation to observe the progress of the Zapad-2025 exercises, State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Alexander Volfovich said.
"Unfortunately, our invitation to observe the course of the exercises was not accepted by either the Polish, Lithuanian, or Latvian sides," the Defense Ministry quoted him as saying.
Volfovich said that the exercise is purely defensive.
"The primary goals of the drills are to practice measures related to ensuring military security of the union state. The exercise poses no threat to our Western neighbors and Western partners," he said.
"Today, the leadership of Poland and the leadership of the Baltic countries are well aware and know that this exercise, like everything that is being done on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, poses no threat to them. The events that are taking place here at the training ground today are primarily aimed not at increasing any military activity, but at working out the issues of readiness to protect their national interests and their territory."
According to him, the republic focuses "not on increasing the number of troops, not on investing money in the purchase of large quantities of weapons and military equipment, but on the quality of military training."
The Zapad 2025 exercises started on the night of Friday, September 12, and will last until September 16. They prompted Poland to closed its border with Belarus.