Turkish military record no Russian military activity in Rostov region - Defence Ministry

MOSCOW, February 19. /TASS/. Turkish military inspectors have recorded no Russian military activity in the Rostov region’s area checked by them in accordance with the Vienna Document of 2011 on observation and prior notification of military activities, a Russian Defence Ministry official told reporters on Thursday. Head of the ministry’s treaty monitoring department Sergei Ryzhkov said that the Turkish military on Thursday completed the inspection of an area of 16,000 square kilometres in the region they have chosen. "Head of the Turkish Verification Centre Colonel Murat Dikkas announced the absence in this area of any military activity of which, in accordance with the Vienna Document, Russia must notify other states - parties to this agreement," Ryzhkov said. According to previous reports, Dutch military that are inspecting an area in the south of Russia since February 17 are to complete the checks on February 20. Their inspection area, some 18,000 square km in size, is also located in the Rostov region. Prior to that, the Ukrainian military had been looking for Russian military activity traces in the Rostov region - they checked an area of 15,000 square km in the period from February 9 to 12. Since the beginning of February, three inspections have been conducted and three are underway in the south of Russia. Thus the annual quota for six inspections under the Vienna Document on Confidence and Security-Building Measures is exhausted this year. Vienna Document 2011 (VD11) is composed of politically binding confidence and security-building measures (CSBMs) designed to increase openness and transparency concerning military activities conducted inside the OSCE's zone of application (ZOA), which includes the territory, surrounding sea areas, and air space of all European (Russia from the western border to the Ural Mountains) and Central Asian participating States. A variety of information exchanges, on-site inspections, evaluation visits, observation visits, and other military-to-military contacts take place according to VD11 provisions. Read more