New Russian military bases in Belarus?

Russian army may gradually replace the Belarusian.

Such an opinion was shared by a military analyst Aliaksandr Aliesin as he commented for Radio Svaboda on the sitting of the Collective Security Council in Sochi.

“This is another opportunity to remind Russia, that Belarus is a loyal ally, that in has a front line springboard in the west, and Russia should strengthen this ally in its capacity. Now the situation with certain kinds of arms is close to critical. The discarding of front bombers Su-24, the unclear situation with Su-27 fighter jets”, - Aliaksandr Aliesin believes.

The analyst says that in this way Belarus’ Armed Forces may lose around 50 jets. If they discard them right away, not on only the striking power will decrease, but the capability for air interception.

“Now it is the time for decisions. One of the options is to choose the path of replacing Belarusian troops in the territory of Belarus with Russian, like we can see by the example of the creation of an aviation base in Lida. The obsolescence of the army will only keep growing, the army will weaken.

Russian is interested in its defense not getting weaker. That is why will either strengthen the Belarusian army, or will replace the Belarusian army with its troops in our territory. That is why the deployment of several more Russian military bases in the territory of Belarus is possible”, - the military expert is convinced.

At the end of August at a meeting with the government Lukashenka claimed the necessity of additional financing of top-priority measures taken to develop aviation and air defense. Forcing the Belarusian and Russian military cooperation he demanded to take into account the outcomes of the latest meetings and agreements with the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the president of Russia Vladimir Putin.

The Defense Minister of the neighboring country announced the plans to deploy an aviation base in Belarus in late April in Minsk.

“We are starting to consider a plan for creating a Russian aviation base here with fighter jets. We hope that in 2015 an aviation regiment will emerge here, - Shoigu then said after the meeting with Lukashenka. – In 2013 we will create an aviation commandant’s office here and will send the first patrol flight of fighter jets”.

The statement provoked a negative reaction of Belarus’ western neighbors, who called the Russian plans an attempt to distort the military balance in the region. Belarusian opposition accused Lukashenka of violating the Constitutional principle of the country’s neutrality, and philistines, having remembered the lessons of the Second World War, panicked in fear of being the victims of the first strike.

Already in three days after the negotiations with Shoigu the Belarusian ruler tried calm the passions down. “In what form? We will negotiate – whether it will be a military base or we will deliver Russian fighter jets to the existing Belarusian military bases. This issue is being discussed”, - Lukashenka then said.

Belarus learnt about the outcome of the negotiations from Russian media, which were informed by the Commander in Chief of Russia’s Sky Force lieutenant general Viktor Bondarev in late June that the Russian aviation base will be deployed in a military aerodrome in the city of Lida in the west of Belarus, and that the modified versions of Su-27SM3 fighter jets will be stationed there.