Belarusian dictatorship spends western loans on Russian weapons

Belarus appealed the Russian government to supply them with air defence missiles on beneficial or gratuitous terms to deploy them at western borders of the country.

As Russian Kommersant daily learnt from a source close to “union state” leadership the case is in “the whole range of modern air defence complexes”. These may be tactical Tor-M2 missile systems, modern S-400 missile units, and Iskander missile systems. The Belarusian military also want to add Russian battle planes to Belarus’s armoury.

A source from Rosoboroneksport also confirmed Minsk’s interest in the modern Russian weapons. This issue, Kommersant supposes, may have been discussed by Alyaksandr Lukashenka and secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolay Patrushev on April 9. According to official information, the agenda of the meeting included “some issues of military and technical cooperation”.

The source from Rosoboroneksport said Belarus is Russia’s partner in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and can be supplied with weapons and military equipment on beneficial terms. “Moreover, it concerns the integrated air defence system,” the source stressed. However, Moscow, according to him, hasn’t reached a decision on this issue.”

Russia Belarus signed an agreement on joint defence of air borders of the “union state” and creation of the joint regional air defence system on February 3, 2009. The document was signed in the Kremlin following the results of the session of the Supreme Council of the “union state” in the presence of the presidents of the two countries.

After signing, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said he counted on gratuitous components parts for air defence systems. In early April, General Major Ihar Azaronak, commander of air and air defence forces of Belarus, said Moscow would deliver modern S-400 Triumf missile systems to Belarus in the frameworks of the integrated regional air defence system. This information was later confirmed by General Lieutenant Vadim Volkovitsky, deputy commander-in-chief of the air forces of Russia.

The Belarusian commander of the air and air defence forces also said Belarus was going to buy Russian battle planes in the frames of technical modernization of the armed forces of the country. According to him, a part of the Belarusian flying stock will be modernized, equipment will be replaced by new models. However, the general didn’t say anything about the new models.

It should be reminded that a summit launching the Eastern Partnership program will take place in Prague on May 7. Alyaksandr Lukashenka was invited for the summit.