Russian President Vladimir Putin has given the go-ahead for a contract that will green-light the establishment of a Russian air base in Belarus.
What followed? John was successfully duped and he went on to post a photo of Putin on his Instagram page, saying: “Thank you to President Vladimir Putin for reaching out and speaking via telephone with me today”. Putin stated in a press release he’d agreed to sign a deal for the bottom & ordered defense & foreign ministry officers to begin talks with Belarus, in accordance to Reuters.
“Against the background of the Ukrainian crisis, the stationing of a permanent Russian military contingent in Belarus will upset the balance of forces and facilitate an increase in tension in the whole region”, said analyst Valery Karbalevich. But the 11-minute phone call turned out to be a prank from two Russian comedians known as “Vovan” and “Lexus”.
The plan is not expected to face major obstacles.
Russian Federation has two military facilities in Belarus – a radar station and a submarine communications center.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, second quit, and Upper House Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, eventually left, look at the Sirius school for presented young kids in the Black Sea vacation resort of Sochi, Russia, Friday, September 18, 2015. Belarus is a prime location for Russian Federation because it borders Ukraine and three members of the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation : Lithuania, Latvia and Poland.
The creation of a base in Belarus may also be a signal to the West that Russian Federation will not tolerate intrusion in its traditional sphere of influence.
Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said Tuesday that Putin “remains open to discuss any human rights issues, any questions – he is always ready to explain the real situation”.
Russia ranks first among Belarus’s economic and commercial partners, with nearly half of the Belarus commerce, linked to the 6.3 billion dollars of Russian investments in the country’s economy.