Russia and Belarus Step Up Security Cooperation

Recent announcements by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu show that security competition is heating up in the wider Nordic-Baltic region. Shoigu met with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko in Minsk on April 23 and said that Russia will deploy four advanced anti-missile batteries to Belarus in 2014. Shoigu also said there are discussions to build a Russian air base in the country in 2015. Russia's moves with Belarus, a strategically located state with close defense ties to Moscow, can be seen as a counter to closer security cooperation among the Nordic and Baltic states.