Fomin assured during an information session with 98 foreign military attaches accredited in Russia, including 16 from member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), that the data provided is part of the voluntary transparency strategy promoted by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

He explained that in December the presidents of Russia and Belarus, Vladimir Putin and Alexandr Lukashenko, agreed to carry out an unscheduled control of the troops and assess their readiness in order to guarantee the security of their countries.

The official said that the evaluation will serve to develop various options for joint actions to neutralize threats and stabilize the situation on the borders of Russia and Belarus.

Fomin explained that Moscow and Minsk value a context in which, in order to guarantee the security of Russia and Belarus, it would be necessary to involve the full military potential of both countries.

“A situation may arise in which the forces and means of the regional grouping are not sufficient to ensure (our) security, and we must be prepared to strengthen it,” he stressed, according to the TASS news agency.

Fomin pointed out that an understanding was reached with Belarus that in the face of such a threat it will be necessary to involve the entire military potential of both countries for collective defense, and stressed that during the maneuvers it is planned to prepare the troops for actions not only within their limits of responsibility, but also to solve tasks that arise suddenly and it is necessary to locate crisis situations in any threatened direction.

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