Russia’s military exercises in its territory are by no means linked with the process of a political settlement of the intra-Ukrainian crisis, Russia’s envoy to the OSCE, Alexander Lukashevich, told an online news briefing on Monday.
"Let me stress that the Russian armed forces’ exercises in their own territory are by no means linked with the process of a political settlement of the intra-Ukrainian crisis. They stem from the intolerable situation concerning NATO’s exercises and provocative activity near Russia’s borders," Lukashevich said.
"Naturally, we are busy with the combat training of our armed forces and we will keep doing this in the future. There are no restrictions on this," he stressed.
Lukashevich pointed out that Russia should bear in mind that "dangerous maneuvers by military aircraft 15 kilometers away from the Russian borders are more than in tolerable and a red line and that any trespassing it might entail totally unpredictable consequences.".
