Portal partners
The Russian Federation together with other OSCE countries will observe Defender-Europe 20
Author:Mariusz Dasiewicz
The OSCE countries, including Russia, will be invited to observe part of the Defender-Europe 20 exercise held in Poland, reported MON. Poland will issue an invitation by 1 April.
Defender-Europe 20, an exercise organized by the U.S. Army Europe Command (USREUR); it is the largest deployment operation of U.S. forces to Europe in over 25 years to test the strategic readiness of the United States, their allies and NATO partners to deploy troops and act in the event of a crisis.
"The Russian Federation, like other countries participating in the OSCE, will receive an invitation to participate in the Follow-up of the Defender-Europe 2020 exercise, in part taking place in Poland," the Ministry of Defence told PAP.
As the MON announced, the invitation to observers will be issued by Poland by 1 April – no later than 42 days before the date of the planned observation of the exercise, when the number of soldiers practicing exceeds 13 thousand. According to the 2011 Vienna Document on Construction and Trust Measures, when the number of forces involved in the maneuvers exceeds 13,000, observers from other OSCE countries should be invited.
"A programme of observations, like episodes, is subject to it as part of talks between Poland and the United States. Details will be included in the invitation for observers" - announced MON.
It also pointed out that "no preferential treatment of any country is applied in the case of notification – invitations are sent to all and it is in each country that the decision to send observers is made separately".
Also, U.S. Deputy Commander General Andrew "Andy" Rohling stressed that the Defender exercise was planned and is carried out "in full compliance with the relevant conventional arms control agreements – the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, the Vienna Paper and the Open Space Treaty".
"We submitted appropriate notifications from the Vienna Paper in November 2018 and again in November 2019 to all 57 countries of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, including the Russian Federation," said Rohling. "To ensure maximum transparency, host countries (exercises) can invite OSCE representatives to participate in the exercise, observe them and confirm its defensive character," he added.
He stressed that the invitation of observers from Russia, for example, to his territory was the responsibility of each host country for the Defender-Europe 20 exercise.
As part of the Defender exercise, about 20,000 soldiers of American land troops arrive in Europe. They are joined by 9,000 soldiers stationed in Europe. From sea and air ports, the Americans will move to the ground to participate in other exercises, including Swift Response, Saber Strike, Allied Spirit, Dynamic Front and Joint Warfighting Assessment. In parallel with Defender-Europe 20 in Poland, the biggest exercise of the Polish Army – Anakonda will take place.
A total of 37,000 soldiers from several countries will participate in the Defender exercise and related exercises. The first American soldiers arrived in Europe in mid-February; the action will continue until April. In Allied Spirit Poles will practice with soldiers stationed in Poland rotatingly American brigade, who will also participate in Saber Strike training, moving from Poland to Lithuania in the Suwałki gulf area.
Source: PAP
