Russia not to seek military confrontation with anyone

As Russia Armed Forces finished nationwide six-day drills on Saturday, the country's Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov stressed that Moscow is not seeking confrontation with anyone.

Antonov told reporters that there were reports spooking the snap drills conducted by Russia, claiming that Moscow only acted in a defensive way aimed at ensuring its national security.

"I can tell you with all responsibility today that we are not going to attack or threaten anyone," Antonov said.

"We are not seeking confrontation with the NATO. We would like our cooperation to develop," Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.

Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Andrei Kartapolov also said that Russia will continue to hold surprise drills, but their scale and purpose should not alarm anyone.

"Russia would like to return to the level of trust and transparency that we used to enjoy with our neighbors and partners not so long ago," said Kartapolov.

Lasting for almost a week, the large scale military exercises wrapped up earlier in the day, aiming to test Russian troop's combat readiness and assess the troops' adaptability under difficult climate conditions.

Kartapolov specified that the exercises demonstrated high level of readiness of the Northern Fleet to ensure military safety of Russia's Arctic borders.

He added that the drills involved more than 80,000 troops and over 10,000 pieces of various types of military hardware including warships, submarines, combat aircraft and helicopters.

The order to start the exercises was given on Monday by President Vladimir Putin. Endite