GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
The Baltics Eye Russia's War Games With Growing Concern
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Aug 18, 2017 | 09:00 GMT
![A Russian-built BTR-82A amphibious armored personnel carrier lands on the shore during 2013 joint military exercises with Belarus in the Russia's Kaliningrad enclave.](https://worldview.stratfor.com/sites/default/files/styles/2x1_full/public/zapad-tank.jpg?itok=uNEOOyRi)
(ALEXEY DRUZHININ/AFP/Getty Images)
Note From the Interviewer:
Since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Baltic states' concern for their security has only grown. But the Russian threat has existed since the Soviet Union began to fall apart in 1990, says Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis. Ahead of the Zapad joint military exercises in September between Russia and Belarus, not far from the Lithuanian border, Karoblis warns that even ordinary-looking war games can sometimes go awry.
The defense minister kindly agreed to answer some questions on the issue.