BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

02/11/2007

Russia and Belarus to boost political and military ties

Gazeta.kz

Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov has called for closer military cooperation with Belarus in light of NATO's eastward expansion and Washington's plans to build a missile shield in the Czech Republic and Poland, as reported by RosBusinessConsulting. So far, Russia and Belarus has not formed a full-fledged military alliance, due to economic and political disagreements. But experts see Belarus as one of Russia's few real allies.

"NATO's expansion and the worsening crisis in the Middle East confirm the need for our closer cooperation in both military and political terms," Serdyukov said at a meeting of the Russia-Belarus Joint Defense Board on Tuesday. Belarus remains Russia's only reliable ally in the West. "Only three nations could be viewed as Russia's real allies: Belarus, Armenia and Syria. Others always hesitate and choose. Russia can and should cooperate with Belarus in all aspects of the military and political areas," said Ruslan Pukhov, head of the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies.

Serdyukov said Russia would continue to supply weapons and military equipment to Belarus on special terms. But there's more to it. "Promoting our military cooperation in separate areas is currently seen as a priority. This includes the creation of a common missile defense system, a common military unit in the West and closer cooperation in the military and technical sphere, from joint development of military equipment to using and modernizing it, and up to scrapping it," said Vagif Guseinov, Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Analysis.

With Belarus' help, Moscow would also be able to prepare a solid response to Washington's missile shield plans in Eastern Europe, without withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), widely seen in the West as a security keystone in Europe. "Russia could deploy its intermediate-range missiles in Belarus because it is the Russian Federation that succeeded the USSR and has obligations under the treaty. Mink is not covered by it," said Sergei Borovikov, at the St. Petersburg-based group Future Designing.

To boost military cooperation, Russia and Belarus need to strengthen their political ties first. "Military cooperation is determined by political cooperation, which remains week with Belarus. It is thought that a common strategic frontier has been created, to be protected by the troops of Belarus and the Moscow Military District. But the problem is that no common command had been formed yet," complained Alexander Khramchikhin, chief analyst at the Institute for Political and Military Analysis.

Source:

http://eng.gazeta.kz/art.asp?aid=98739