{"id":138504,"date":"2021-09-12T15:33:06","date_gmt":"2021-09-12T15:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=138504"},"modified":"2021-09-12T15:33:06","modified_gmt":"2021-09-12T15:33:06","slug":"putin-to-sell-1billion-of-weapons-including-missile-systems-to-belarus-following-joint-war-drills-on-doorstep-of-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/world-news\/putin-to-sell-1billion-of-weapons-including-missile-systems-to-belarus-following-joint-war-drills-on-doorstep-of-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Putin to sell $1BILLION of weapons including missile systems to Belarus following joint war drills on doorstep of Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"

VLADIMIR Putin is selling $1BILLION-worth of weapons to Belarus – stoking fears of a conflict in Europe, reports say.<\/p>\n

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko – dubbed the continent's last dictator – said he was discussing buying S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia, local media reports.<\/p>\n


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Moscow will also reportedly supply the cash-strapped country with new fighter jets in order to patrol its borders with Europe.<\/p>\n

Russia and Belarus have already agreed to integrate their economies including establishing common tax and customs measures in a plan which will increase Moscow's influence over its neighbour.<\/p>\n

This comes after Lukashenko was sanctioned by the West for his ruthless crackdown on political protestors following his "rigged" election victory last year.<\/p>\n

Landlocked Belarus is on Europe\u2019s doorstep and is close to the tinderbox in Ukraine. <\/p>\n

The cooperation between the two nations is being closely monitored by Western powers.<\/p>\n

This week, Russia and its ally launched war games with 200,000 troops spanning 2,000km in a warning to Europe and the US.<\/p>\n

The Zapad-2021 military drills run north to south from the Baltic to Ukraine amid fears of flashpoints along east-west frontiers.<\/p>\n

But Putin\u2019s forces are also staging simultaneous major war games in the Arctic after completing separate large-scale joint exercises in ex-Soviet republics bordering strife-torn Afghanistan on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The Zapad-2021 exercises – or West-2021, in English – involve a total of 200,000 troops, 80 warplanes and helicopters, plus 290 tanks, 240 artillery pieces, multiple launcher rocket systems and mortars.<\/p>\n

"These exercises are not aimed against anyone," insisted\u00a0Putin after talks with Lukashenko, who has faced unprecedented protests against his iron-fist rule spanning more than a quarter of a century.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the drills were "logical at a time, when other alliances, such as\u00a0NATO, actively ramp up their presence near the borders of the Union State (of Russia and Belarus).\u201d<\/p>\n

WARNING TO WEST<\/h2>\n

The Kremlin hardliner said: \u201cWe discussed issues related to forming a common defence space and ensuring security along our borders.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is concern in the Baltic States and\u00a0Poland\u00a0after Belarus has \u201cweaponised\u201d illegal immigrants from\u00a0Iran\u00a0and\u00a0Iraq, by arranging their infiltration through EU borders in an alleged move to destabilise the West.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Latvian foreign minister\u00a0Edgars Rinkevics\u00a0has issued a warning over the Zapad-2021 drills.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"You have a border crisis, you have a major military exercise going on at the borders of\u00a0NATO\u00a0countries," he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"You also have increased presence on our side, the Lithuanian side, Estonian side, Polish side of border guards, and military formations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, this is increasing the possibility of incidents.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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