European inspectors report no Russian military build-up on Ukraine border
by alethoVoice of Russia | March 23, 2014
Watchdogs
from several European countries have noticed no indication of a massive
build-up of Russian military that would threaten the security of
neighboring states, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said
Sunday.
According
to Mr. Antonov, as many as seven inspection groups paid visits to
Russian border territories over the past month. “Our facilities and
deployment areas along the Russian-Ukrainian border were twice checked
by the Ukrainian military,” he noted.
Monitors
from the US, Canada, Germany, France, Switzerland, Poland, Latvia,
Estonia and Finland scrutinized Russia’s military camps stationed on its
borders with neighboring nations. “It must have been a simple
'coincidence' that the majority of these [missions] focused on the
regions near the Ukrainian border,” Mr. Antonov noted.
“We
were as transparent as it comes and let our partners inspect all
facilities they wanted. We have nothing to hide,” the defense chief
pointed out.
The
Russian military went as far as allowing EU and NATO watchdogs to
interrogate Russian command, takes photos of bases where personnel and
military hardware were stationed and accompany them during their routine
maneuvers.
“The
conclusion that our partners came to after the final briefing, which is
a compulsory inspection procedure, was unanimous: Russian armed forces
are not involved in any manner of unannounced military maneuvers that
would endanger the security of neighboring states,” Antonov underscored.
The
Russian deputy defense minister urged Ukrainian and European watchdogs
to update their corresponding governments on the actual situation on the
Russian borders, saying a clearer picture would certainly de-escalate
the situation in the region.
Related article
No comments:
Post a Comment