The Morning Vertical, August 17, 2017
(World News Russia)

ON MY MIND One of the more interesting developments in the run-up to next month`s joint Russian-Belarusian Zapad 2017 military exercises has been the behavior of Belarus. Unlike Moscow, which seems intent on using the exercises as something of a psyop to spook Russia`s neighbors and the West, Minsk appears determined that they not become a source of external friction. With the exercises taking place on Belarusian soil, Minsk has invited military observers from NATO and non-NATO countries, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Red Cross. Belarus has made a special effort to reach out to -- and assuage the concerns of -- countries in the neighborhood like...