At the moment, Belarus is not going to deploy a Russian military base on its territory, but the decision might be reviewed if Poland hosted a permanent U.S. military presence, Uladzimir Makey said at a press conference in Brussels.
According to him, a U.S. base in Poland would increase regional “mistrust”.
Asked if Polish proposals to host a U.S. base amid fears of Russian aggression could prompt Belarus to revise its rejection of any Russian base, Makey said: “I think there will be some reaction to this intention to deploy a new military air base. Nothing is impossible … As of today … we are not going to deploy new foreign military bases on the territory of Belarus because we would like to contribute to security in our region and we don’t want to be a troublemaker.”
Belarus will take into account the future steps which will be taken by its neighbours, he added.
In May 2016, the minister said that the deployment of a Russian airbase in Belarus was not in question ‘so far’.
“If such need arises, one can return to this issue in any case, but at this stage it seems to us that there is no point in discussing the deployment of a Russian military base on the territory of Belarus. At the moment, the question is closed. But this does not mean that it will be impossible to return to it if the relevant circumstances change and we have to appropriately respond,” Makey said.
On May 31, Uladzimir Makey met with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini.
НМ, belsat.eu, following Reuters, photo Valery Sharifulin/ TASS/ Forum
