Putin Introduced State Duma Bill On Using Air Defense On Border Of Belarus And EU

The Russian president wants to amend the Russian - Belarusian agreement on joint protection of the border of February 3, 2009.

On August 10, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin submitted to the State Duma a draft federal law No. 245943-7 on the use of air defense on the borders of Belarus. The Russian parliament’s website reports on registration of the document.

Putin asks the State Duma to ratify the protocol of February 3, 2009 "on introducing amendments and additions to the agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus on joint protection of the airspace at the Union State external border and creating the Unified Regional Air Defense System of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus."

It is noted that the protocol was signed in Minsk on November 2, 2016.

"Its provisions clarify the conceptual apparatus of the agreement, as well as introduce amendments relating to the organizational and staff structure of the Russian Federation Armed Forces and the procedure of using weapons and military equipment by air defense duty officers in the joint performance of combat duty tasks," – the report says.

It is stated that the implementation of the protocol "gives the opportunity to improve the security of the external air border of the Union State, contributes to strengthening the security of the two states and does not require additional appropriations from the federal budget."

The treaty on the creation of a union state was signed by Russia and Belarus in 1997. The integration practically stopped in 2010 due to complications in the countries' relations.

On September 19, 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered to sign an agreement with Belarus on establishing a Russian air base on its territory.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that the main function of this military facility is the "protection of the air border of the union state" between Belarus and Russia.

In October of the same year, Belarusian President Aliaksandr Lukashenka said that he knew nothing about the airbase in Belarus, and that it was a Russian "throw-in". He also spoke about the inexpediency of placing such a base.

In February 2017, military journalist Alexander Goltz informed in the commentary to Medusa that "there were two Russian military facilities on the territory of Belarus: an early warning system for a missile attack and a long-distance communication system supporting Russian submarines."

From September 14 to September 20, the Russian-Belarusian military exercises West-2017 will be held in Belarus. Russian servicemen started to arrive in the country on July 24.

The European Union, NATO and Ukraine have expressed their concern about the exercises.

In August, the international intelligence community InformNapalm recorded a large-scale movement of Russian military equipment along the entire European border. Experts have warned that the exercises could become a stage of "occupation and drawing Belarus into an armed conflict."