In the absence of information on the conduct of the Union Resolve-2022 military exercise, Baltic countries request a meeting European Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (EDSO) with Belarus, informed the Ministry of Defense (MoD).
–
–
Content will continue after the ad
Advertising
–
Responding to Baltic demandReceived on 11 February Belarusian a response that does not provide the required information for the Union Resolve-2022 military exercise, therefore Latvia, Lithuania a Estonia requests a meeting with Belarus in OSCE format within 48 hours to re-request information.
According to the ministry, Belarus has not provided the requested information on the scope of military training, armaments systems, as well as information on the time when the Russian armed forces plan to return to Russia.
Belarus has provided information that the training does not exceed 13,000 troops, which is the threshold for providing information in the Vienna Document, but the publicly available information and the information available to the Latvian Ministry of Defense clearly indicate that the training of Belarusian and Russian soldiers and military equipment is significant. higher than this threshold.
The “Union Resolve-2022” exercise, which runs from February 10 to 20, has not been announced in advance, but high-ranking Russian and Belarusian officials have reported a large number of troops and military equipment.
Given the growing tensions, Russia’s aggressive rhetoric and concentration of forces Ukraine Near the borders, military training of this magnitude without oppression against OSCE participating States undermines regional security and arms control mechanisms, the ministry explains.
AM stresses that Belarus and Russia have suspended arms control activities, citing Covid-19 as the main argument, but that the challenges of the pandemic do not prevent the large-scale mobilization of troops.
In the context of these exercises, Belarus, like Russia, is taking a selective approach to its arms control commitments and choosing which ones to fulfill.
Latvia reiterates that a selective approach to arms control measures is not acceptable in the context of European security, and advocates openness and the need to fully implement arms control treaties and commitments. In order to ensure international peace, states must fully respect their international obligations and treaties, including their arms control commitments.
It has already been reported that on February 9, explaining their concerns about the scope and opacity of military training “Union Resolve-2022”, the Baltic states requested additional information from Belarus, including number of infantry, number of forces, type, affiliation, location, number of armaments, data on the return of military units to peacetime positions, and called for transparency in the framework of the Vienna Document and the organization of training observations for OSCE participating States.
The Baltic States launched Chapter 3 “Risk Mitigation” of the OSCE Vienna Document. This mechanism allows OSCE participating States to request information from other States on unusual, unplanned and significant activities of military forces outside their usual peacetime locations of military concern and security concern.
On February 2, within the framework of the Bilateral Cooperation Agreement, Latvia applied for a bilateral inspection in Belarus, which was rejected on the grounds of Covid-19 restrictions. Such an inspection would make it possible to determine the extent of the military activities being carried out in the area, in particular those which must be notified in advance in the context of the Vienna Document.
During the inspection, officers of the Latvian Armed Forces would have had the opportunity to visit and receive information about the military units, their structure in the selected area and information about their tasks and military activities, thus promoting trust and security in the region.
–
