Zakharova: the West openly names Russia and Belarus as targets of its military exercises

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that Western countries are not hiding their intention to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia and are openly designating Russia and Belarus as targets of their military exercises.

She made the remarks to journalists at the First International Security Forum organized by the Security Council of the Russian Federation.

“No one on the Western side is hiding the fact that they designate either Russia, or Belarus, or our common space as the targets of their exercises. They are not hiding their desire to inflict a strategic defeat on us,” Zakharova said.

According to her, all of this must be countered. The forum discussed how to do so in the context of existing NCOs and NGOs, which, in the diplomat’s assessment, are sponsored by Western countries not to address civil society issues but to destroy life in one country or another under the guise of civil society. Zakharova stressed that security issues must be addressed in all other areas as well.

The diplomat also stated that for many years and even decades Russia had tried to offer the West a unifying agenda and had warned that destructive manipulation, regime change, and color revolutions lead to shared, pan-European problems. According to her, these problems are now growing and spreading beyond the continent. Instead of embracing a unifying agenda, Westerners, as Zakharova put it, have been endlessly undermining pan-European security like “woodworm beetles.”

Zakharova also addressed the situation surrounding the OSCE. According to her, the West has blocked the organization’s work, leaving only its name. Russia and Belarus, she said, are together trying to restore common sense to the OSCE platform, but Westerners, in “collective madness,” continue to block its work. Zakharova also noted that nothing remains of the common humanitarian space and common logistics after Western countries themselves blocked the ability of Russian aircraft and transport to operate, to say nothing of cargo, trade turnover, and sanctions.

“All these trends indicate that we need to strengthen our own security. And, moreover, we also need to tell them about it, so as to sober some of them up somewhat,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman concluded.