According to Reuters, the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed on the 16th local time that U.S. military officials recently watched a joint military exercise between Russia and Belarus, according to the report, this is the first time since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in 2022.
According to reports, U.S. Defense Department chief spokesman Sean Panel said on the 16th, “The U.S. Embassy in Belarus received an invitation from Belarus, and U.S. military officers attended the ‘West 2025’ military exercises.Given the recent bilateral exchanges between the two countries were fruitful, the U.S. side accepted the invitation.”
The Belarusian Defense Ministry said earlier that three NATO member states, the United States, Turkey and Hungary, sent observers to observe the exercise.
Russian and Belarusian armed forces began joint strategic exercises code-named “West-2025” on 12 December, Reuters said, local time, media footage of U.S. military officials and observers from other countries watching “West-2025” exercises in Belarus. Belarusian Defense Minister Hellenin spoke with U.S. military officials, both sides shrugged hands and U.S. officials thanked in Russian for the invitation.
A U.S. defense official who asked for anonymity said the last U.S. observation of the “West” exercise dates back to 2021.