NATO announced on Thursday that its annual Steadfast Noon exercise will be kicked off in Italy this Tuesday, Oct. 13, using rhetoric playing down NATO’s arms drive, and belligerence to Russia. “The exercise is a long-planned, routine training activity that is part of NATO’s efforts to maintain readiness and test procedures that contribute to the Alliance’s deterrence and defense,” the alliance statement said. It quoted NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte claiming that “NATO is a defensive Alliance. This exercise helps us ensure a safe, secure, effective, and credible capability to preserve peace, prevent coercion and deter aggression. It also sends a clear message of unity and resolve.”

The exercise will involve 17 members of the alliance—no list is provided—and will not employ any live weapons. “The exercise is not linked to current world events and is not directed against any country,” the statement concludes.

News reports note that Steadfast Noon follows recent tensions between NATO and Russia over Kaliningrad, including a NATO exercise in its vicinity in August and comments from certain NATO members about blockading the exclave. “We have been doing this every year and … this is also a clear message to nations like Russia that there is no need to worry,” said Nassima Barrows, NATO’s nuclear policy director, reported Politico. “This is predictable and there is no reason to miscalculate.”

“Its purpose is really essentially to train our allied forces so that we are ready and prepared, and we ensure the safety and security of our nuclear capability,” she told reporters.