Belarus’ authoritarian dictator, Alyaksandr Lukashenko, has told Russia’s defence minister that he needs assurances that Moscow would defend Belarus in the case of an attack.
According to Belarusian state-owned news agency BelTA, Lukashenka made the remark during negotiations with visiting Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Minsk.
Belarus requires indications that Russia will protect the country like its own territory if attacked, according to Lukashenko, who said he discussed the security guarantees with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a meeting on April 5.
According to Lukashenko, Putin agreed with him that such security guarantees were necessary. During his meetings with Putin, he claimed it appeared that in the event of aggression against Belarus, the Russian Federation would protect Belarus as its own territory. “These are the kind of security [guarantees] we need,” Lukashenka was reported as adding.
Belarus, which now hosts a detachment of Russian military, permitted Russia to utilise its territory to begin an assault on Kyiv during the early stages of Ukraine’s full-scale invasion. It has also taken part in military manoeuvres with Russia and hosted high-level Russian officials, fueling concerns that Belarus will join a fresh operation against Ukraine.
Lukashenko has rejected such ambitions, but has stated that Belarus will respond to any intrusions or attempts to stir instability.
Putin has stated that Russia intends to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. He said that Russia was constructing a storage facility in Belarus.
According to the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, the move was in accordance with international law and did not violate the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), a landmark treaty aimed at stopping the spread of nuclear weapons.
Minsk also stated that it was forced to accept to host Russian tactical nuclear weapons due to unprecedented political, economic, and information pressure from the West.
The EU’s foreign policy leader, Josep Borrell, encouraged Belarus not to host Russian nuclear weapons and warned that if it did, the EU would slap more penalties on Minsk.