Russian Defence Minister believes foreign observers should attend Pacific Fleet exercises

Russian defence minister Sergei Ivanov believes the presence of foreign observers in the Pacific Fleet's exercises is important. He said this to journalists on Monday after the completion of one of the exercises' episodes and added that the presence of foreign observers is necessary for them to correctly assess Russia's intentions.

"They (observers) could see for themselves that the exercises are not aggressive," the minister said after the talk with foreign observers who attended them.

According to him, they were interested in the Russian experience of close co-ordination of actions between various armed services as well as with other state institutions.

"The foreign observers' assessment is positive," Ivanov stressed.

He also pointed out that the situation in the Asia-Pacific region is unstable as a whole, and the region can be attacked by international terrorists.

The minister also stated that the situation is also unstable in the north-east of the Far East.

The economic potential is being constantly developed there, and navigation is growing. All this requires serious efforts to be taken to protect navigation and ensure ecological safety, he added.

An active stage of the Pacific Fleet's large-scale exercises in the Far East was conducted near Cape Klerk, during which a supposed group of Islamic extremists attempted to penetrate deep in Russian territory.