MOSCOW, April 28 (RIA Novosti) – The Geneva agreement on defusing the crisis in Ukraine does not include any restrictions on the activities of the Russian military on Russian soil, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday.
“The Geneva agreement does not include restrictions on the activities of Russian army within its national territory,” according to a statement of the Russian delegation during talks held on military security and arms control in Vienna.
The statement was a response to a notice that Kiev sent Moscow over ongoing military exercises near the western border of Russia.
“Concerning the military exercises near the Ukrainian borders by battalion tactical groups … there is no ground to react to them on the basis of the chapter III of the Vienna Document of 2011 … the goals and the objectives, as well as the content of these exercises were announced by the Russian Minister of Defense on April 24,” the statement said.
In response to the developing situation in Ukraine’s southeast, where a special operation targeted the country’s own citizens last week, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the beginning of military drills of units from the Southern and Western military districts near the borders with Ukraine.
Following the statement, Kiev asked Moscow to provide details concerning the aim, the location, the number and kinds of military units involved in the military exercises near the Ukrainian border.
The Vienna Document that came into force on December 1, 2011 provides for a variety of information exchanges among OSCE members, including on military forces, equipment and armament, as well as defense planning.
