Alexander Lukashevich drew attention to the fact that the military exercises conducted on its territory involving armed formations and foreign military equipment from NATO countries do not contribute to national peace and harmony in Ukraine
VIENNA, September 16. /TASS/. The Russian side expects that the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) will include data on foreign military exercises in Ukraine in its reports. This appeal was made on Thursday by the Permanent Representative of Russia to the OSCE, Alexander Lukashevich, at the permanent Council of this international organization.
The Russian diplomat drew attention to the fact that the military exercises conducted on its territory involving armed formations and foreign military equipment from NATO countries do not contribute to national peace and harmony in Ukraine. So, in the near future, the maneuvers "United Efforts - 2021" (Joint Endeavor, September 22-30) and "Rapid Trident - 2021" (Rapid Trident, September 20 - October 1) will be held.
According to Lukashevich, all this does not correspond to the provisions of the package of measures "involving the withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine of all foreign armed formations and military equipment under the supervision of the OSCE." "We expect that the SMM, in accordance with the mandate, will include data on these exercises in the reports," the Russian permanent representative said.
He noted that the goals of militarization of Ukraine are absolutely clear - " to maintain a hotbed of controlled tension near the borders of Russia, to clean up the space in the east for its subsequent geopolitical development." "They are persistently trying to impose on the Ukrainian people a false choice between Russia and the so - called collective West, offering a flawed zero-sum game," he added.
