Lukashenko has found a way to punch Russia in the gut for the sake of discounts on oil and gas
The Belarusian authorities will use in negotiations with Russia on energy supplies the extension of agreements on the deployment of two military facilities on their territory: the Volga radar station near Gantsevichi and the Antey radio station in Vileika.
Belarusian military expert Yegor Lebedok stated this on air at Euroradio, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“Our agreements were signed about one thing, but concerned another. Roughly speaking: we give you the facilities for free, you give us cheaper oil. The contracts will be extended in any case for a number of reasons. The only question is the price. Will it be spelled out in the agreements, or will it again be some kind of discrepancy implied in the price of oil,” Lebedok argues.
The Belarusian president deliberately delayed the extension of contracts so that it coincided with the conclusion of contracts for the supply of energy resources.
The Ministry of Defense of Belarus was ready to renegotiate the agreements last year. Belarusian Defense Minister Andrei Ravkov stated this in an interview with Russian media at the end of 2018.
The liberal expert believes that Belarusian bases do not pose a “threat” like the basing of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol.
“These objects could pose a threat on the principle of a naval base in Crimea. There was a limit on the number of people up to 20 thousand, and Putin did not exceed it. Everything is correct - they sent special forces there, which was enough to capture the peninsula. Our number of these objects is limited to 3300 in total.
This is not such a large number, although it is enough to capture certain objects. I think there is monitoring here: who is arriving, what weapons. Where possible, they are replaced by our civilian personnel. These objects do not pose a military threat to Belarus,” Lebedok is sure.
Lukashenko found a way to punch Russia in the gut for a discount on oil and gas.