Stanislaw Shushkevich: Russia’s air base plans are illegal

Russia’s plans to build an air base in Belarus run counter to Belarusian national regulations and some international agreements ratified by Moscow.

Stanislaw Shushkevich, Belarus’ formal head of state between 1991 and 1994, told about it for Radio Racyja.

The agreement on the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States says that the parties will respect each other’s intention to become nuclear-free zones and neutral states, Dr. Shushkevich noted, adding that the Belarusian constitution declares Belarus to be a neutral state.

He warned that the deployment of Russian fighter jets in Belarus would bring it even closer to losing its independence.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced on Tuesday that Russia was planning to deploy a fighter jet regiment in Belarus by 2015, and that the two countries were beginning to consider plans for establishing an air base in Belarus.