Written question asked by Lord Patten (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour) on Thursday, 12 November 2009.

Russia and Belarus

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the military exercises held in western Russia and Belarus during October.

Answer: The military exercises held during the period 18 to 29 September in western Russia and Belarus involved troops from the Russian Federation and Belarus. Belarus notified this exercise to the OSCE, as required by the terms of the Vienna Document 1999, and invited observers from neighbouring countries and diplomatic representatives based in Belarus to attend. No UK observer attended this year. Exercises of this nature are routinely assessed by the MoD.

Secondary information