Russian Experts To Watch British Military Exercises Designed To Show NATO's Military Power

Russian inspectors have arrived to see the British war games near Scotland. The military exercises are designed to show the strength of NATO forces amid tensions between Russia and the West.

UK’s Ministry of Defence has been forced to accept a four-day visit as military experts from Moscow arrive to observe the war games under the European arms control treaty. International officials said the visit began on April 13 at Lossiemouth. Experts from the Russian Nuclear Threat Reduction Centre are expected to go to North Scotland where 55 warships and more than 70 aircraft and 13,000 soldiers from 14 countries will engage in mock military operations, the Daily Telegraph reports.

The military exercises, known as Exercise Joint Warrior, was hailed by the British government as one biggest air, land and sea trainings held in Europe. UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the exercise would be a show of NATO’s military power.

Russian state media reports that the team from the Russian National Threat Reduction Centre would conduct a “series of checks” at the exercise. Sergey Ryzhkov, head of the centre, said that during the British war games, inspectors will visit the site of the exercises and hold “command briefings.”

Since relations between Russia and NATO had declined after the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, it was the first time Russian experts had attended NATO military exercises. NATO has pulled out from any type of cooperation with Russia in protest of Moscow’s continued aggression in Ukraine. The alliance has stepped up efforts to reassure its European allies who feel threatened by Russia’s military activities.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said in March that the exercise would “send a clear message to those who threaten us.” UK officials said the Russian team will be escorted at all times during the visit and given access to unclassified information.

Defence experts believe it will be a routine visit as Russian officers had previously arrived in Britain in 2014. However, British officers had not conducted the same inspections in Russia since 2010. The UK-led war games will have mock amphibious landings, attacks by small ships, mine clearing and airborne landing. Submarine hunting drills will also be conducted.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is protesting the interception of a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft by a Russian jet last week. Pentagon spokesperson Mark Wright called the incident as “unsafe and unprofessional.”

The Pentagon said the U.S. RC-135U aircraft was flying in international airspace north of Poland when a Russian SU-27 fighter intercepted the American plane and used unsafe and unprofessional maneuvres in close proximity. “Unprofessional air intercepts have the potential to cause harm to all aircrews involved. More importantly, the careless actions of a single pilot have the potential to escalate tensions between countries,” said Wright. CBS reports it was the first time the U.S. had protested Moscow's unsafe flight practices.