Posted on 10/04/2015 3:49:48 PM PDT by BeadCounter
MINSK, Belarus (AP) — About 1,000 opposition activists on Sunday protested Russia's plans to establish a military air base in Belarus, saying it would turn the former Soviet republic into a Kremlin "vassal."
They claim the base would add to regional tensions already heightened by the conflict in Ukraine, and make it impossible for Belarus to maintain neutrality between Russia and the West.
Belarus borders Russia, Ukraine and three members of the European Union and NATO: Lithuania, Latvia and Poland.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has refrained from commenting on Russian President Vladimir Putin's initiative to establish the base. Analysts say he has little choice but to accept it, since his government depends on cheap energy supplies from Russia.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Lukachinko has been nothing but a puppet for Putin. By sitting on the sidelines of the Ukraine issue, Lukachinko has played his role by allowing Putin a way to “sanctions bust” by using Belarus as a transit route.
So, to take a page from our Russian trolls’ playbook, when does NATO invade and annex a portion of Belarus?
The majority of Belarusians speak Russian as their native language.
In contrast to Ukraine, there is very little historical antipathy to Russia in Belarus.
They were forced to accept independence upon the Soviet collapse.
It should be noted the two countries form a Union State and a Russian air base would be little more than an extension of the Belarusian armed forces integration into the Russian defense network.
To think that at one time Lukashenko imagined himself as the leader of the new Soviet Union....and then along came Putin.
Ummm. They don't want the base.
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