Warsaw fears that after the West-2017 exercises, Russian troops will be stationed near the eastern border of Poland, said Defense Minister Anthony Macherevich to the agency
PAP after meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
The problem is that all the preparation for these teachings and the course of preparatory actions are so unclear and so opaque, such different information appears that in fact there is no clarity as to what the real goals of the Russian side associated with these teachings are. Hence the fear that they may be part of a wider operation, which consists in leaving the troops near the eastern border of Poland in Belarus
- he said, passes
RIA News.
According to the minister, "the last aspect (the deployment of Russian troops in Belarus) should be seriously taken into account."
We need to be aware that these 12,5 of thousands of military, who were entered there (in Belarus) in accordance with the rules and at this level, as it is permissible, are not all the troops that are concentrated there in connection with the exercises ... The Polish side has Information on a much wider mobilization, on a much wider training besides those troops that have already been deployed in Belarus
- declared the Polish minister.
Macherevich also said that Poland has not yet received an invitation to send observers to the West-2017 exercise.
If we receive such an invitation, we will also send our observers.
- he noted.
A number of NATO countries have previously expressed concern about the upcoming September 14-20 on the territory of Belarus Belarusian-Russian exercises "West-2017". Thus, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense prepared a report on national security threats, which it saw as particularly dangerous in the West-2017 exercise.
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