Lukashenko: It is not practical to build a Russian air base in Belarus Saturday, February 4, 2017 5:40:00 PM

The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, believes that it is not practical to build a Russian air base in his country, as he stated during the "Big Conversation with the President", Interfax reported.

"They say, a military base ... Oh, come on, who needs these 10 aircraft, which Russia wanted to station... in Bobruisk. I said to Putin: it is necessary to rebuild the airfield, it's is already half-dismantled. Why 10 aircraft? Give us 20 aircraft, we have great pilots, great school, you know that we are not worse at fighting in military aircraft. We are one team after all. But no, Shoygu wanted this," Lukashenko said.

"Let's look at it from a military point of view. What is the benefit of such an air base? What is, for example, a plane in a modern war against NATO? 10 minutes of battle — it took off, and it's gone. The war is different today. It's in Syria where there is no system of air defense that you can fly," the President of Belarus added.

According to Lukashenko, it makes little sense to have an airfield close to potential battle space.

In Lukashenko's opinion the Russian proposal to establish a military base in Belarus "is not a military proposal."

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