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Steven Pifer, former Ambassador to Ukraine (1997-2000) and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told Polygraph.info.He added that the NATO exercise is taking place against the backdrop of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, hostile rhetoric and own large-scale military exercises.Last September, the Zapad 2017 joint Russia-Belarus military exercise took place in close vicinity to Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, all NATO members. While Russian officials claimed only 12,700 troops participated, experts say that more than 100,000 troops in fact took part in the massive joint strategic military exercise. Polygraph.info reported how these large-scale drills posed conventional military threat to the West. Heather A. Conley, Senior Vice President for Europe, Eurasia and the Arctic at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, confirmed NATO has publicized details and notified the Russian government about its upcoming Trident Juncture exercise during a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council this past May. It was in advance of NATO’s planned major military exercise this fall and we invited Russian representatives as observers
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