You're reading: Gottemoeller: NATO expects Russia to inform it of military exercises in advance

MOSCOW – NATO expects Russia to start again notifying the alliance of preparing military exercises in keeping with the Vienna Document, especially in the run-up to a season of military exercises, NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller said.

“We would like very much to see Russia’s return to notifying exercises under the Vienna document providing for observers to come and observe the exercises under the Vienna document,” Gottemoeller said via a video link from Brussels at a news briefing of the NATO Information Office in Moscow.

“I thought I’d talk about exercise interaction a little bit in detail because I do think it’s important right now,” she said, adding that the summer exercise period has begun for NATO and Russia will hold West 2017 drills in September.

Every country has the right to hold exercises, but NATO is witnessing pressure from Russia in relation to the alliance’s borders, she said.

“When we see exercises being prepared in a way that could create surprises for us during the period when we have been concerned about the Russian aggressive actions elsewhere, it is concerning,” Gottemoeller said.