The West 2017 military drills are designed as a major Russian provocation, directed against NATO. Michael Fallon, the British defense minister said that as quoted by Radio Liberty.
‘Russia has been testing us every time it gets a chance to do so. Russia has been more and more aggressive, and we’ve got to cope with it. The Alliance should remain strong,’ Fallon said.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged Russia to observe full transparency in terms of informing the society about the course of the exercise.
‘We already saw Russia using large-scale military drills as a cover – or precursor – for aggressive military actions against their neighbors. That’s what happened in Georgia in 2008, when Russia invaded Georgia; the same took place in Crimea in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea.
