(ANSA-AFP).
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(ANSA-AFP) - MOSCOW, JAN 31 - President Vladimir Putin on
Tuesday backed a plan to set up joint military training centers
with Belarus, with fears mounting that Minsk could enter the
Ukraine conflict to fight with Moscow. In a decree published
Tuesday, Putin tasked the defence and foreign ministers to
conduct talks with Belarus and sign an agreement to establish
the facilities. The document did not specify where they would be
based. Minsk allowed Moscow to use Belarusian territory as a
launching pad for its Ukraine offensive that began on February
24 last year. Strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko has insisted
that he will not send Belarusian troops into Ukraine despite
increasing military cooperation with Russia. In October, Minsk
said it was establishing a joint regional force with Moscow with
several thousand Russian servicemen arriving to the country.
(ANSA-AFP).
(ANSA-AFP).
