Events

Lukashenko: Belarus will not take money for hosting Russian military facilities

MINSK, 1 March (BelTA) - Belarus will not take money for hosting Russian military facilities, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said as he met with community leaders, experts, Belarusian and foreign media on 1 March, BelTA has learned.

The head of state remarked that there are two Russian military installations in Belarus. Russia does not pay anything to the Belarusian side for their deployment. The sides will conclude a new agreement in about a year. “We will not take money from you, even if you do not regulate the tax maneuver, let this money stay with you. We will not take your money because it is our common security,” Alexander Lukashenko said.

At the same time, the head of state remarked that when the issue concerning the support of Belarus in the form of providing certain types of military equipment is discussed, the Russian side says that it is expensive and impossible. “They give us a hint that we should buy it. I once publicly asked in response: do you want me to buy your Kalashnikov rifle to protect you? If you have more opportunities, please support the Belarusian army now. Eventually, a decision was made that we will buy aircraft, so it goes,” the president said.

Speaking about the Belarusian-Russian integration, Alexander Lukashenko asked to address such topical issues in the first place. “We cannot ruin good things. We have enough rivals, perhaps, even enemies,” he said. “We are responsible for the Slavonic world, the Slavonic civilization. If we ruin it, life will not be easy for our children.”

print version

make home page

add to bookmarks