VILNIUS: Gen. Ben Hodges, the commander of US ground forces in Europe, called on Russia Friday to expand media access to its upcoming military exercises, adding that Moscow's statements could not be trusted.
"If the Russian Federation is truly interested in stability and security, then be transparent, invite media to see everything that they do," Hodges told reporters in Lithuania.
Moscow has said 12,700 troops from Russia and Belarus will participate in the Zapad drills along the NATO's eastern flank from Sept. 14 to 20.
However, western officials have said the preparations suggest it will be a much larger exercise, which would mean that Moscow should allow international observers to monitor the drills.
"The Russians have not given us a lot of reason to trust the numbers that they say," Hodges said, echoing remarks by NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.
The exercises in western Russia and Belarus have caused unease in Poland and the Baltic states, though Moscow has insisted that they will be "purely defensive" in nature.
Earlier this week the US sent extra jet fighters and a company of US Army troops to beef up its presence in Lithuania during the drills.