Minister of Defense of Belarus about Russian bases: Why are they needed here?
Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin believes that Russian military bases on the country’s territory are not needed.
He stated this in an interview with Al Jazeera TV channel, PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“I’ll tell you in the words of our president: why do we need them here? If we have a Union State, we have the concept of a regional grouping of troops, which includes all the armed forces of Belarus and part of the forces and means from the Russian Federation, which, according to our calculations, are quite sufficient. If there is a need, then Russia is very close by, they will all be on our territory. And there is no need to place additional aviation or any other bases.
Our neighbors do not hesitate to place bases, but for some reason we... Because we really don’t need them here. We have developed a different mechanism with our strategic ally. We prepare our armed forces within the framework of combat training centers, where we organize joint duty, study equipment and experience, and share our knowledge somewhere. Therefore, there will be no bases, but if necessary, as the president said, at least the entire Russian army will be here. We will stand firm for our land and will not allow anyone to talk to us from a position of strength,” Khrenin said.
In 2019, Russia offered Belarus to create its own air force base. However, Minsk rejected this proposal. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called it an “unpleasant episode.”
After Belomaidan and the political crisis in which Russia supported Belarus, there was hope that Minsk would change its position on this issue.
The airfield in Machulishchi was named as the probable location of the Russian airbase. The runway slabs were replaced there. In Soviet times, a heavy bomber regiment and a mixed air defense squadron were located there. In March, military personnel from Belarus and Russia practiced elements of a joint landing in Machulishchi.
Earlier, Lukashenko proposed considering the issue of joint duty with the participation of Russian aircraft, using the experience of 2014, when the World Hockey Championship was held.
In the midst of the migration crisis, two TU-22M3 aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces carry out daily patrols of the Belarusian border. They take off and land at an airfield on Russian territory.
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