Russia and Belarus today started the planned joint military exercises that had raised the concerns of Western countries for fears that Moscow is planning a major escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed in a statement the start of maneuvers in Belarus (called Union Resolve 2022), scheduled to run until February 20, which will focus on the "suppression and repulsion of external aggressions".
"The accumulation of forces at the border is the psychological pressure of our neighbors", the comment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who adds: "Today we have enough strength to defend our country with honor".
The ultimatums and threats of the West directed at Russia in the context of the Ukrainian crisis "lead nowhere", Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today: "Many of our Western colleagues have a passion for this very form" of communication. "Of course - he stressed - we can normalize relations through dialogue and mutual respect, an equal dialogue, which hinges on common legal interests and the search for mutually satisfactory solutions".
(Unioneonline / D)
