MINSK, 15 March (BelTA) – The upper chamber of the Belarusian parliament passed a bill on ratifying international agreements at the eighth session of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus, BelTA has learned.
Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said: “The bill has been drafted to express Belarus' approval to abide by the relevant international agreements, which were signed in Moscow on 20 October 2021.”
The bill provides for ratifying the Belarusian-Russian intergovernmental protocol on extending the agreement on the operation and maintenance of the radio station Vileika in Belarus' territory and the Belarusian-Russian intergovernmental protocol on extending the agreement on completing the construction, on using, and operating the Baranovichi node in Belarus' territory.
Chairman of the International Affairs and National Security Commission of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Sergei Rachkov said: “Several military installations have been operating in the territory of the Republic of Belarus since the Soviet times. Those are not military bases of the Russian Federation. Time has come to extend the relevant agreements of the Defense Ministry with Russian colleagues. We've looked into it and found a mutually acceptable solution. As of today we are technically satisfied with the solutions that have been found. It will continue tight interaction of Belarus and Russia in the sphere of security.”
In his words, these decisions were prompted by mutual benefits. He mentioned defense, finance, economy, and social aspects. In particular, Belarusian citizens will continue working at these installations and getting rather good salaries, the senator said.
