MOSCOW, May 10 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday the possible establishment of a Russian airbase in Belarus should not be seen as a response to US missile defense plans in Europe.
“I see no reasons to worry about this issue,” Lavrov said at a press conference with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski in Warsaw.
The foreign minister said Russia and Belarus are a “unified military space,” adding: “No matter if there are Belarusian or Russian planes there, nothing will change… We are protecting our border [the border of the Union State of Russia and Belarus].”
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said last month Russia plans to base fighter jets at a military airbase in Belarus, with a first wing due to arrive there later this year. “We hope that an Air Force regiment will be here by 2015 to protect our borders,” he said.
