Monday, September 21, 2015

President Putin wants to set up airbase in Belarus but Belarus does not approve


Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to establish a Russian military air base in neighboring Belarus. But, while Belarus does not approve of a Russian base, it is helpless because the former Soviet republic continues to remains dependent on Moscow for credit and energy. And, the Russian move would unnerve Poland and the Baltic nations.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 20 September 2015.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has not commented on Putin's initiative but, the two presidents had met in the southern Russian city of Sochi and President Putin has ordered his Defense Ministry to hold talks with their Belarusian counterparts and sign the agreement.
Russia has radar and a navy communications facility in Belarus, but this would be the first airbase. Belarus has its advantages and is a desirable location for Russia because it borders Ukraine and three members of the European Union and NATO: Lithuania, Latvia and Poland.
Moreover setting up such a base is not new. The idea of setting up an airbase in the ex-Soviet republic had been revealed by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in 2013. It follows a 2009 agreement under which Russia and Belarus had agreed to defend their common external frontier and airspace.
The proposed base would be used to station Su-27 fighters.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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