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Lukashenka will use Russian air base to stay in power, Sannikaw says

Alyaksandr Lukashenka wants to have a Russian air base in Belarus to make his dictatorial regime stronger and prevent democratic reform, former presidential candidate Andrey Sannikaw told news website charter97.org.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced on Tuesday that Russia was planning to deploy a fighter jet regiment in Belarus by 2015, and that the two countries were beginning to consider plans for establishing an air base in Belarus.

“This is not Russia establishing an air base in the territory of Belarus,” Mr. Sannikaw commented. “This is dictator Lukashenka establishing a Russian military facility in our territory. This is being done to strengthen the dictatorship and protect it against democratic change. In addition, this decision is obviously directed against Europe, and Lukashenka himself admitted this.”

Although foreign military bases are quite common, they may be established only by order of the legitimate head of the host country and with the approval of its legitimate parliament, said Mr. Sannikaw, who served as Belarus’ deputy foreign minister in 1995 and 1996. Such decisions require the presence of a real military threat and always prompt a public discussion, he said. “In this case, it is absolutely clear that there is no military threat to Belarus, and that all military preparations by the Lukashenka regime are aggressive in nature,” he said. “Given that there is no legitimate government in Belarus, like I’ve said, such actions are illegal according to all norms of international law. Moreover, they threaten the independence and security of Belarus.”

Europe should take this “aggressive challenge” very seriously and pay close attention to the forthcoming Belarusian-Russian military exercise, Zapad 2013 (West 2013), and realize that no attempts to resume cooperation with Belarusian authorities will do anything good for Belarus or Europe, Mr. Sannikaw said.

“Lukashenka doesn’t represent the Belarusian people,” he stressed. “His regime is an occupying regime and any contacts with it not only strengthen the dictatorship but also prolong the occupation of Belarus.” //BelaPAN