MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Eurosceptic political party Czech National Democracy strongly opposes NATO’s Nobel Jump military exercises currently taking place in the country, party deputy chairman Ladislav Zemanek said in a statement Wednesday.
“The National Democracy party lists exit from NATO and declaration of the Czech Republic neutrality in its party program. This way, we strongly oppose these exercises,” Zemanek said as quoted on the official party’s website.
The statement added that the drills in the Czech Republic followed US military convoy passage through the country that was intended to intimidate Czech citizens and unnecessarily prove Washington’s military superiority.
The convoy included 118 Stryker and Humvee (HMMWV) armored combat vehicles, as well as 520 US servicemen. Some Czech residents staged anti-NATO rallies as the US convoy passed through Czech territory.
A NATO rapid reaction force began military exercises code-named Noble Jump in the Czech Republic on Tuesday.
The Very High Readiness Joint Task Force was created in 2014 to address new security threats to the alliance in Eastern Europe, including threats associated with the Ukrainian crisis.