Russia was not obligated to notify Western countries beforehand of its recent snap military exercises, a top Russian Defense Ministry official said Monday, RIA-Novosti reports.
“The mechanism of checks today is such that we only need to notify Western countries when we hold planned events,” RIA-Novosti quotes Sergei Ryzhkov, the chief of the ministry’s treaty implementation department.
“If exercises occur suddenly, we may notify them [other countries] only when the exercises begin,” Ryzhkov said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered snap drills on Thursday, as concerns persist over the combat readiness of the armed forces in Russia.
The Black Sea exercise, which ended on Sunday, involved up to 7,000 military personnel, including rapid deployment, airborne and special task forces, more than 30 warships, about 250 armored vehicles, up to 20 pieces of artillery and 20 aircraft.
