Belarusian Foreign Ministry: Russian Military Base Deployment is Pointless

There is no sense in deploying a Russian air base on the territory of Belarus, so this issue is not on the agenda of Russian-Belarusian relations, said Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei in an interview with RBC. There is no practical, political or military sense in the deployment of the Russian air base on the territory of Belarus, said the head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry Vladimir Makei in an interview with RBC and added that this issue is not on the agenda of Russian-Belarusian relations for the moment. “Given the development of modern technology, this makes no sense. Why deploy a military air base on the territory of Belarus, if today missiles can literally in a matter of minutes reach another continent, the back of our planet. If Belarus deployed some additional military facilities on its territory, I don’t think that this would contribute to strengthening stability and security in our region,” the minister said. To a clarifying question from RBC whether Minsk’s decision is related to the position of its European neighbors, he replied that “they would never make a fundamental decision in Belarus under the influence of any external forces. If the Belarusian leadership makes a decision, it is only if it meets our national interests – this is the main principle, he added. RBC