NATO/RUSSIA: “The North Atlantic Treaty Organization announced Wednesday [8-30-17] it would send three observers to Russia’s Zapad military exercise but said the invitation fell short of Moscow’s international obligations.
The statement from NATO came as the U.S. took over the Baltic air-policing mission in Lithuania.
The U.S. began flying seven F-15C jet fighters from the U.K. out of Lithuania on Wednesday. The U.S. fighters will begin standing alert to intercept unknown aircraft Thursday, replacing four Polish F-16s.
NATO officials have warned that the Zapad maneuvers, planned amid a military buildup in the region by the alliance and Russia, could serve as a screen for Russia to deploy more military equipment and heighten the risk of an accident or miscalculation that could touch off a crisis.
NATO will send two experts to Belarus and one to Russia. The experts will be allowed to attend the official ‘Visitor Day’ of the exercise, NATO said.
Oana Lungescu, the chief NATO spokeswoman, said that although the alliance welcomes the invitation ‘they are not a substitute’ for the kind of observation required under the Vienna Document, an international agreement governing military exercises in Europe.”
-Julian E. Barnes, “NATO Will Send Three Observers to Russian Military Exercise,” The Wall Street Journal online, Aug. 30, 2017 08:42am