Kremlin says deployment of Russian military bases in Belarus not on agenda

The question of deploying Russian military facilities in Belarus is not on the agenda, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Wednesday, TASS reports.

"This question is not on the agenda," he said when asked about the possibility of creating a Russian military base in Belarus.

About the Belarussian defense minster’s visit to Russia Peskov said that Russia and Belarus were members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Union State and were developing vast relations in various fields.

"For this reason, contacts are regular and daily in very different spheres," he explained.

The agreement on the presence of Russian military facilities in Belarus took effect on June 7, 1996 and remains effective till June 7, 2021. There are two Russian military facilities in the country - the 474th radio-technical center Baranovichi (in Gantsevichi, the Brest Region) and the 43rd communication center of the Russian Navy (in Vileika, the Minsk Region). In accordance with the agreement signed in Minsk on January 6, 1995 Russia leased all real estate and plots of land taken up by these facilities for a period of 25 years.