Russian Military Urges to Rebuild Trust With Neighbors Amid Ukraine Crisis

Lt. Gen. Andrei Kartapolov, Deputy Head of the Russian Armed Forces' general staff, said that Russia wants to return to the level of trust and transparency that the country enjoyed with its neighbors and partners before the Ukrainian crisis.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Russian Defense Ministry urges neighboring nations to return to the pre-crisis level of transparency, in an attempt to ease mistrust that has caused a rift with Europe after the start of the Ukraine conflict, a senior Russian General Staff official said Saturday.

"We want to return to the level of trust and transparency that we enjoyed with our neighbors and partners not so long ago. We suggest that all countries respond to real threats that exist in the modern world," Lt. Gen. Andrei Kartapolov, Deputy Head of the Russian Armed Forces' general staff, said.

Lt. Gen. Kartapolov met Saturday with foreign military attaches in Moscow, where he spoke on the week-long snap drills. The military exercises to test Russian troop's combat readiness, wrapped up earlier in the day.

"Our armed forces held and will continue to hold surprise drills, but their scale and purpose should not alarm anyone. We only want that our partner [countries] stop spooking themselves and their people," the senior military official said.

On Monday, thousands of Russian troops were brought to full alert ahead of a snap combat readiness check that involved all branches of the Russian Armed Forces. Additionally, hundreds of aircraft were scrambled across the country.

The drills raised concerns among Russia's neighbors, with the Finnish foreign minister accusing Moscow of flexing its military muscle.