Events

MINSK, 18 September (BelTA) - The hysteria around the Zapad 2017 army exercise has been created artificially, Sergei Bobrikov, a member of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus, said in an interview to the STV channel, BelTA has learned.

“The hysteria around Zapad 2017 is clearly artificial. There was nothing of the kind when we conducted the military exercise several years ago. Someone wants to draw the attention to themselves, get some economic benefits, ‘freshen up their political faces’,” Sergei Bobrikov said.

According to the MP, an army exercise is meant to check the preparedness of the troops. “For the military it is important to make everything operate as one mechanism. The exercise shows the ability of the troops to perform their tasks,” Sergei Bobrikov said.

The MP is confident that the defensive capacity of the state is judged by its armed forces. “Our army is compact and mobile, capable of responding to the present-day risks, challenges and threats. The Belarusian army matches the country’s economic capacities,” he said.