Moscow — Two US soldiers have unexpectedly visited the Zapad joint Russian-Belarusian exercises in Belarus as observers.
Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin welcomed a US military diplomat with an escort at the training ground near the city of Barysaw and published a video of the encounter on Monday.
He instructed that the two US soldiers be given the best seats and show them everything that interested them. Barysaw is located around 60 kilometres north-east of the Belarusian capital, Minsk.
Due to the increasing conflict between Russia and the West, the regular major military exercise has aroused great concern among neighbouring EU and NATO states.
Russia and its ally Belarus have long been subject to sanctions, and relations with the rest of Europe have been downgraded.
Meanwhile, under US President Donald Trump, the United States has re-established contact with Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko.
Khrenin said that the manoeuvre in Belarus had been scaled down once again in view of concerns abroad. He spoke of 6,000 Belarusian soldiers and 1,000 Russian soldiers.
Western military experts, however, assume higher numbers. It is also difficult to estimate the number of soldiers involved in the Russian part of the exercise.
Countries friendly to Moscow such as China, Kazakhstan and Vietnam are taking part as official observers.
In addition to the US, NATO members Turkey and Hungary have sent observers. The Zapad (West) manoeuvre is due to continue until Tuesday.
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