Russia Military Exercise "Caucasus 2020" S-400 Buk-M2 Pantsir-S

Russian Ministry of Defense prepared and conducted the ‘Caucasus 2020’ military drills with maximum transparency for third countries, Russian General Staff head General Valery Gerasimov said Friday.

"As per tradition, the preparation and implementation of the strategic exercise was based on the principle of maximum possible transparency. The foreign military attaches have been informed about the goal, tasks, areas, forces and means involved in the exercise. […] The information about the forces’ actions is being promptly reported at the Ministry of Defense online resources, as well as by the leading Russian and foreign news agencies," he said.

He underscored that the "Caucasus 2020" drills were not aimed at other countries and complied with the Russian military doctrine, which is defensive in nature.

"As you could see for yourself, all opposing states are fictional and are geographically situated on the territory of the Russian Federation," the senior officer said.

The "Caucasus 2020" drills take place between September 21 and 26 in the Southern Military District, under the control of Russian General Staff head General Valery Gerasimov. The drills involve about 80,000 people, including Ministry of Emergency Situations and National Guard personnel.

About 12,900 servicemen will take part in episodes, covered by the 2011 Vienna Document on confidence-and security-building measures.

A total of 1,000 servicemen from six foreign states take part in the events