Belarus to Maintain Military Cooperation With Russia Despite Differences

Belarus does not intend to phase out military cooperation with Russia, despite their differences on concerning energy prices and food import quality, President Alexander Lukashenko said Monday.

MINSK (Sputnik) — The president brought up military partnership between the allied states at a briefing on the nation’s preparation for September’s joint military exercise with Russia, dubbed Zapad 2017 (West 2017).

"No one is going to phase out the military cooperation with Russia because we have disagreements in other areas," Lukashenko said, as quoted by a national news agency, Belta.

Lukashenko said annual drills were the best way of enhancing interoperability of the two neighbors and testing their readiness to protect borders in light of a volatile situation around the world.