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Lukashenko: No need for Russian military bases in Belarus

OSIPOVICHI DISTRICT, 17 February (BelTA) - There is no need to set up Russian military bases in Belarus, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko told the media after he reviewed the Belarusian-Russian exercise Allied Resolve 2022 at the Osipovichi training ground on 17 February, BelTA has learned.

When asked about the possibility of setting up Russian military bases in Belarus, the president said that he had repeatedly stated that there was no such need. “The point here is not that we do not want it or are afraid of anything,” he said.

“We do not need them here from the military point of view,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko. According to him, the exercise demonstrated how a huge number of troops and hardware can be deployed from the Far East to Belarus literally within 10-12 days. There is a joint group of forces under the Union State Treaty, the core of which is the Belarusian army (65,000 soldiers). We can mobilize some 200,000 more and add territorial troops. The total number of troops will make up about half a million. “The Russian Federation can send troops from its western regions within a day or two. Why do we need to spend billions of U.S. dollars to set up additional bases here?” the president said.

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, there is no need to set up Air Forces bases, either. “Why do we need to move jets, helicopters and so on to the border of the Union State and put them into crosshairs?” he said. The same is true about the missile forces. They are, as required, stationed both in Russia and Belarus. “We do not need any bases here,” the president said.

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