Lukashenka to receive money for Russian airbase

Russia will pay Belarus for using the airbase.

Belarus and Russia are expected to agree on the payment for using the airbase near Baranavichy by Russia, Interfax news agency reports.

“Russia will pay for using the Belarusian military airbase. The size of payments will be determined in accordance with the arrangements between the two countries,” Russia's Ambassador Alexander Surikov said at a press conference today. “There are no free things in the world,” he added.

Surikov reminded that the final “date of the formation of the military airbase is 2014”. The first group of Russian fighters already arrived at the airbase near Baranavichy, according to him.

The plans to set a new military base in Belarus were announced on April 23. It became known at a meeting between Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu and Lukashenka. Shoigu said a military commandant’s office would be opened in Belarus and a group of combat fighters on alert duty would be provided.

On October 29, Russian minister of denfece Sergei Shoigu said in Moscow the preparation of the agreement on deploying a Russian airbase in Belarus was coming to an end. “The two countries are completing the preparation of the interstate agreement on deploying the Russian airbase in Belarus,” he said. “We have reviewed the work of the task force of the air forces of Belarus and Russia to determine the location of the base.”

It's worth noting that the plans to deploy the Russian airbase in Belarus provoked a negative reaction of the opposition and a part of society.