BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

15/02/2006

Russia May Deploy Airbase in Belarus - Air Force Commander

RIA Novosti

Russia's Air Force commander said Wednesday that the country's military authorities were contemplating the deployment of an airbase in Belarus.

General Vladimir Mikhailov said, "We intend to have a base in Belarus as a standby option." However, he stopped short of saying whether this possibility had been discussed with Belarusian authorities.

Mikhailov is currently visiting the ex-Soviet Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan. On Thursday, he is scheduled to meet with the Kyrgyz defense minister for talks on the status of the Russian airbase at Kant.

The Kant base, set up in the fall of 2003, will be expanded by two-and-a-half times before the end of the year, both in terms of personnel and hardware, Mikhailov said.

Earlier, a high-ranking Defense Ministry official said the servicemen stationed at the Kant base enjoy the same status as Russian embassies' technical personnel do, with immunity against arrest and prosecution.

Source:

http://www.bakutoday.net/view.php?d=16340

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