MOSCOW. Jan 12 (Interfax-AVN) - Patrolling of airspace over Baltic states by NATO airplanes does not violate international accords, Major General Nikolai Bezborodov, member of the State Duma defense committee, said on Wednesday.
"The Treaty on the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) sets limits only on the strength of Land Forces armaments such as tanks, APCs, guns, mortars This treaty has nothing to do with the air forces. That is why the stationing of NATO warplanes in the Baltic states does not run contrary to any international accords," Bezborodov told Interfax-Military News Agency.
The lawmaker was asked to comment on aerial patrolling of Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian airspace by F-16 fighters of the Norwegian Air Force, which started on Wednesday.
There will be no contradictions, even if NATO deploys an entire air force regiment in the Baltic states, Bezborodov said.
"Though relations between Russia and the alliance will naturally not benefit from that," he stressed.
Four to five NATO fighters have been permanently stationed at the Zokniai airbase near Siauliai since March 29, 2004, the day Lithuania was admitted to NATO. Four F-16 fighters of the Norwegian Air Force were put on combat duty on Wednesday to replace four Tornado F3 fighters of the British Royal Air Force which had been stationed in Lithuania for three months.
Over 50 military and civilian specialists were delivered to Zokniai from Norway to service the fighters.
The Dutch Air Force will take over air police functions from Norway in three months. Fighters from Germany, Denmark, Poland, the U.S. and other NATO member nations will follow on a rotation basis.
On March 29, 2004, four F-16 fighters of the Belgian Air Force were put on combat duty in the Baltic states. They were replaced by five such fighters of the Danish Air Force in July and by Tornado F3 fighters of the British Royal Air Force in October.