Russia wants to make its armed forces more transparent – military

File Photo of Russian Tanks in Military Parade

(Interfax -MOSCOW. July 15, 2013) The Russian Defense Ministry will make the situation in the armed forces more transparent for NATO colleagues, said Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov.

“We will continue enhancing the transparency of our armed forces,” Antonenko said after a meeting with foreign military attaches.

He said NATO officials have complained on many occasions that the Russian armed forces are not transparent enough.

“I think there are certain fears regarding the processes underway in the armed forces. Now what is really happening? A reform is underway in the armed forces. Therefore, any country, especially from among our neighbors, can have queries about the purpose of the large-scale exercise in the Far East,” he said.

“I think such questions are quite logical. What we have done today (the meeting with military attaches) is the first step to make these processes more transparent. Of course, everyone has taken note of the fact that 160,000 personnel were alerted and that a large number of tanks, other armored vehicles, planes and ships were involved,” he said.

Antonov confirmed that its was the first such drill in the past 20 years since the Soviet Union’s breakup.

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