Russian army officers arrive in Minsk for Zapad 2013 exercise

            A team of Russian army officers has arrived in Minsk for the sake of taking part in preparations for the Belarusian-Russian exercise Zapad 2013 (West 2013), representatives of the Belarusian Defense Ministry told media. Belarusian Defense Minister, Lieutenant-General Yuri Zhadobin has already met with the head of the Russian delegation. The sides discussed preparations for and the actual joint exercise. Later on Russian and Belarusian military will have to carry out a reconnaissance of the areas where the exercise is supposed to take place, refine the order of the practical actions that troops will carry out, and agree all the aspects of support for participants of the exercise.The Belarusian-Russian strategic army exercise Zapad 2013 will take place in Belarus and Russia on 20-26 September. Practical actions of military administration bodies and troops will take place in Kaliningrad region, Russia and at six firing ranges located in Belarus. The exercise will also use the latest defense products. Some of them have been accepted by the army while some have yet to pass final tests. In particular, Belarusian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), communication means, radar solutions, navigation and radio warfare products will be used