MINSK, February 2 (AVN) - An international conference on mine security under the aegis of the UN is to take place in Minsk on March 6-7, 2000, the Military News Agency learned from the Belarussian Defence Ministry.
A great amount of personnel mines was left in the republic after the Soviet Union collapsed and about a million and a half of them are expired, Belarussian Engineering Force Commander Colonel Ignatiy Misuragin, told the Military News Agency.
It is necessary to render the mines harmless, but if the engineering troops simply spring them it will harm the environment and if they use modern technologies of disarming mines they will need about 150 million U.S. dollars that is much more than the Belarussian Army budget for 2000.
Belarus cannot solve this problem and hopes that participants of the conference will help it with technologies and money.