Issue of Russian Military Base Deployment in Belarus Not Discussed - Ambassador

The issue of deploying a Russian military base in Belarus has never been raised because an intergovernmental agreement is required for that, which is lacking, Russian Ambassador in Minsk Alexander Surikov said Thursday.

MINSK (Sputnik) — Russia announced its plans to open a new air base in Belarus in 2014, with up to 24 jets to be deployed in Babruysk.

Minsk claimed that such a decision would make the country a greater target for NATO, proposing instead to deploy the aircraft without Russian pilots, or accepting at least a temporary, rotational Russian presence.

"It [the base deployment issue] has never been raised. No military base may be deployed on the territory of another country, including Belarus, without an intergovernmental agreement. There is no such agreement," Surikov told reporters.

In February, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko proposed Russia to provide Minsk with 20 aircraft instead of creating a military base on its territory.