Russian Defence Ministry refused to meet with Belarusian military

Belarus and Russia stopped holding sessions of the Joint Board of the Belarusian and Russian Defence Ministries.

Not a single session of the Joint Board of the Belarusian and Russian Defence Ministries has been held this year. Previously for more than 10 years the meetings of the commanding officers of the military forces of the two states were held twice a year, BelaPAN informs.

In April the session of the Board was traditionally held in Belarus, and in October – in Russia.

In the first half of this year the session of the Joint Board of the Defence Ministries was announced twice. First it was planned for April 21, and later on May 25, but it was not held. The possible dates of the session in the second part of the year were not publicized.

The Defence Ministry of Belarus does not comment on this situation and on the prospects of holding a session before the end of the year.

The decision to create the Joint Board of the Defence Ministries of the two countries was adopted in December 1997. Among the general guidelines of the board’s work were coordination of foreign political activities of the Defence Ministries, carrying out cooperation with military agencies of other states, organizing and implementing common principles of military construction and development of military forces in line with of aims and goals for enhancing regional military security.