{"id":46443,"date":"2017-08-29T14:39:28","date_gmt":"2017-08-29T14:39:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/08\/29\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:43:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:43:32","slug":"russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/29\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia tries to allay Western fears about planned war games"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MOSCOW \u2014 The Russian military sought Tuesday to allay Western fears about major war games set for next month, describing them as regular drills that will not threaten anyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Zapad (West) 2017 maneuvers organized jointly by Belarus and Russia have raised NATO concerns. Some alliance members, including the Baltic states and Poland, have criticized Moscow for a lack of transparency and questioned Moscow\u2019s intentions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russia-West relations have been badly strained over Moscow\u2019s annexation of Ukraine\u2019s Crimean Peninsula and continuing fighting in eastern Ukraine. Amid spiraling tensions, Western worries about the planned maneuvers have ranged from allegations that Russia could use the maneuvers to permanently deploy its forces to Belarus to fears of a surprise attack on the Baltics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russia\u2019s Deputy Defense Minister, Lt. Gen. Alexander Fomin, rejected what he described as Western \u201cmyths about the so-called Russian threat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe most improbable scenarios have been floated,\u201d he said at a briefing for foreign military attaches. \u201cSome have reached as far as to claim that the Zapad 2017 exercises will serve as a \u2018platform for invasion\u2019 and \u2018occupation\u2019 of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fomin said the Russian military will invite foreign observers to the Sept. 14-20 drills in Belarus and Western Russia, which will involve 5,500 Russian and 7,200 Belarusian troops, about 70 aircraft, up to 250 tanks and 200 artillery systems and 10 navy ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moscow\u2019s assurances have failed to assuage Russia\u2019s neighbors, which expect the drills to be far greater in scope than officially declared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Estonian Defense Minister Juri Luik said last month that Moscow could deploy up to 100,000 troops for the maneuvers. Poland\u2019s Deputy Defense Minister Michal Dworczyk also questioned the Russian official claims, saying that Warsaw expects many more Russian soldiers and equipment to be deployed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking Monday on Polish state Radio 1, Dworczyk expressed hope that the exercise \u201cwill not include any aggressive scenarios\u201d and won\u2019t cause any incidents, adding that \u201coperations on this scale always run this risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said that a recent visit by Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was \u201cdedicated in part to the upcoming exercises.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stoltenberg said last week that the alliance will send two observers to the maneuvers, but noted that the access on visitors\u2019 days offered by Belarus does not constitute real monitoring and that NATO is seeking \u201ca more thorough way of observing\u201d the drills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4694\" height=\"3129\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17241434813796.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-61160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17241434813796.jpg.jpg 4694w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17241434813796.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17241434813796.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17241434813796.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17241434813796.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17241434813796.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4694px) 100vw, 4694px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A man watches Russian military jets performing on Aug. 12, 2017, in Alabino, outside Moscow, Russia. The Russian military says major war games, the Zapad (West) 2017 maneuvers, set for next month will not threaten anyone. (Pavel Golovkin\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAll nations have the right to exercise their forces, but nations should also respect their commitments to transparency,\u201d he said. \u201cPredictability, transparency is especially important when we have increased military activity along our borders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The West has watched Russian military moves with utmost concern following Moscow\u2019s annexation of Crimea and support for pro-Russian insurgents in eastern Ukraine. Russia had leased a naval base in Crimea prior to its seizure, and used troops deployed there to quickly overtake the Black Sea peninsula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fomin said the exercise will simulate a military response to extremist groups supported from abroad and aren\u2019t directed against anyone in particular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDespite the fact that the bulk of it will be held on the territory of Belarus, we had in mind an imaginary adversary unrelated to any specific region,\u201d he said. \u201cAccording to our estimates, the situation envisaged in the maneuvers\u2019 scenario could develop in any part of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Monika Scislowska in Warsaw and Yuras Karmanau in Minsk, Belarus, contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Russian military sought Tuesday to allay Western fears about major war games set for next month, describing them as regular drills that will not threaten anyone<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":38989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":13,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,13,26],"tags":[],"coauthors":[4899],"class_list":["post-46443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"DTFG3QAONBAKFAID76V55ZD7KE","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/29\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Russia tries to allay Western fears about planned war games - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Russian military sought Tuesday to allay Western fears about major war games set for next month, describing them as regular drills that will not threaten anyone\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Russia tries to allay Western fears about planned war games\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Russian military sought Tuesday to allay Western fears about major war games set for next month, describing them as regular drills that will not threaten anyone\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/29\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Air Force TImes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-08-29T14:39:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T03:43:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Vladimir Isachenkov, The Associated Press\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Vladimir Isachenkov, The Associated Press\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2017\\\/08\\\/29\\\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2017\\\/08\\\/29\\\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Russia tries to allay Western fears about planned war games\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2017-08-29T14:39:28+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T03:43:32+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2017\\\/08\\\/29\\\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 596,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2017\\\/08\\\/29\\\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP_17241435104556.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Flashpoints\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2017\\\/08\\\/29\\\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2017\\\/08\\\/29\\\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2017\\\/08\\\/29\\\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Russia tries to allay Western fears about planned war games - Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2017\\\/08\\\/29\\\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2017\\\/08\\\/29\\\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP_17241435104556.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2017-08-29T14:39:28+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T03:43:32+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The Russian military sought Tuesday to allay Western fears about major war games set for next month, describing them as regular drills that will not threaten anyone\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2017\\\/08\\\/29\\\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2017\\\/08\\\/29\\\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2017\\\/08\\\/29\\\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP_17241435104556.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP_17241435104556.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2017\\\/08\\\/29\\\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Flashpoints\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"flashpoints\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Russia tries to allay Western fears about planned war games\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Airmen | Air Force Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/air-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/air-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Air Force TImes\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Russia tries to allay Western fears about planned war games - Air Force TImes","description":"The Russian military sought Tuesday to allay Western fears about major war games set for next month, describing them as regular drills that will not threaten anyone","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Russia tries to allay Western fears about planned war games","og_description":"The Russian military sought Tuesday to allay Western fears about major war games set for next month, describing them as regular drills that will not threaten anyone","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/29\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\/","og_site_name":"Air Force TImes","article_published_time":"2017-08-29T14:39:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T03:43:32+00:00","author":"Vladimir Isachenkov, The Associated Press","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Vladimir Isachenkov, The Associated Press","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/29\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/29\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Russia tries to allay Western fears about planned war games","datePublished":"2017-08-29T14:39:28+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T03:43:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/29\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\/"},"wordCount":596,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/29\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17241435104556.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Flashpoints","Newsletters"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/29\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/29\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/29\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\/","name":"Russia tries to allay Western fears about planned war games - Air Force TImes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/29\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/29\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17241435104556.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2017-08-29T14:39:28+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T03:43:32+00:00","description":"The Russian military sought Tuesday to allay Western fears about major war games set for next month, describing them as regular drills that will not threaten anyone","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/29\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/29\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/29\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17241435104556.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17241435104556.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/29\/russia-tries-to-allay-western-fears-about-planned-war-games\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Flashpoints","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/","ad_zone":"flashpoints"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Russia tries to allay Western fears about planned war games"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","name":"Air Force TImes","description":"Independent News For Airmen | Air Force Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization","name":"Air Force TImes","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/air-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/air-logo-white.png","caption":"Air Force TImes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Air Force TImes","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17241435104556.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46443"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46443\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46447,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46443\/revisions\/46447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46443"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=46443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}