Russia to open its first airbase in Belarus in 2013

Russia's first air base in Belarus would be operational later this year, a high-ranking military officer said Wednesday. "The creation of a Russian air base in Belarus is a result of the fulfillment of an inter-governmental agreement on the strengthening of the military component of the Union State, which we have a duty to fulfill," Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force Viktor Bondarev told reporters. "As a member of the Union State, Russia has a duty to form and have its air base there," Bondarev said. The airbase will be located near the town of Lida, not far from the Polish-Lithuanian border junction. Bondarev said, initially, the base would be used only by the Russian air force but Belarus would be in charge of its maintenance. "The airbase will be an important element of the first strategic defense echelon of the Union State, protecting the Belorussian airspace," he said. Bondarev said the base was ready for Russian Su-27 SMZ fighters arrival and no extra construction work was needed.