Belarus won`t allow Russian air base

AP, Minsk :Belarus doesn’t want to host a Russian military air base, President Alexander Lukashenko said Tuesday, a statement that highlighted a strain between the two neighbors and allies.Lukashenko said that he knows nothing about plans to set up a Russian air base in Belarus and added that his nation doesn’t need it, according to state news agency Belta.”I feel surprised and, to some extent, angry and annoyed by that,” he said.The Belarusian leader’s statement follows Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order to his government last month to sign an agreement on a Russian military base in Belarus. The two countries have close political, economic and military ties, and Belarus depends on Russian energy and other subsidies.The Russian military already has an early warning radar and a navy communications facility in Belarus, but setting up an air base would mark a significantly bigger military presence.