Possible Russian base in Belarus irrelevant to NATO - US envoy

The United States Permanent Representative to NATO Douglas Lute has commented on a possible deployment of Russian military airbase in Belarus. According to ria.ru, the base would not change the situation with the regional security from NATO's point of view. Russia has already troops in Russia's Kaliningrad region.

"The question about a possible Russian base in Belarus is a matter between Russia and Belarus. Taking into account the geographic location of Kaliningrad - a souvereign Russian territory with the significant number of Russian forces, I don't think something in Belarus would change the whole picture," said Lute. He added that Russia already borders the Baltic states, which are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

In the view of Lute, deployment of a Russian airbase in Belarus "in the context of geography" is hardly relevant to NATO.

As was reported earlier, Vladimir Putin ordered Russian agencies to agree the deployment of a Russian military airbase in Belarus. Aliaksandr Lukashenka, in his turn, said on numerous occasions that the issue was yet to addressed.

Photo: Telegraf-EPA