Russia has no reason to "get scared" over the upcoming NATO Trident Juncture military exercises, as the core operations will be held 1,000 kilometers (about 620 miles) away from the Russian border, Lt. Gen. Rune Jakobsen, the commander of the Norwegian Joint Headquarters in Norway's Bodo, said Tuesday.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th October, 2018) Russia has no reason to "get scared" over the upcoming NATO Trident Juncture military exercises, as the core operations will be held 1,000 kilometers (about 620 miles) away from the Russian border, Lt. Gen. Rune Jakobsen, the commander of the Norwegian Joint Headquarters in Norway's Bodo, said Tuesday.
"The core exercise area is more than 1,000 kilometers from the Russian border. And air operations could take place up to 500 kilometers [about 310 miles] away from the border. So there should not be any reason for the Russians to get scared or see this as something else than a defensive exercise," Jakobsen said at a press-conference, when asked how far from the Russian border the drills would be held.
US Navy Admiral James G. Foggo, commander of the Allied Joint Force Command in Naples, Italy, said the drills were not a message to "any particular adversary."
Foggo said last week Russia should take up NATO's invitation to send observers to the exercises that will be held primarily in Norway. The drills with over 40,000 participants from more than 30 nations are set to begin on October 25.
