Russia’s Putin Pays Rare Visit to His Country’s ‘No. 1 Ally’ Belarus

Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko (L) welcomes his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin (R) prior to the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) summit in Minsk on Nov. 30, 2017. Mikhail Metzel/AFP via Getty Images

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Minsk, Belarus, on Dec. 19 for a one-day “working visit,” during which he’s slated to hold talks with his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko.

Putin was accompanied on the trip by Sergei Shoigu and Sergey Lavrov, his ministers of defense and foreign affairs, respectively.

The Russian president last visited Belarus, a close ally of Moscow, in 2019.

According to the Kremlin, the two leaders will discuss “regional and international issues,” along with “the further development of [the] Russian–Belarusian strategic partnership and alliance with a focus on the integration within the Union State.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (R) walk during a meeting in Sochi, Russia, on May 23, 2022. Sputnik/Ramil Sitdikov/Kremlin via Reuters

The Russia–Belarus Union State Treaty was signed in 1999 with the aim of strengthening economic and defense ties between the two neighbors.

At midday, Lavrov preceded Putin in Minsk, where he was reportedly greeted by Sergei Aleinik, his new Belarusian counterpart. It was Lavrov’s first meeting with Aleinik, who was appointed last week following the unexpected death of his predecessor, Vladimir Makei, in late November.

According to a Russian Foreign Ministry statement, Lavrov and Aleinik exchanged views on “international and regional issues, including the situation around the Ukrainian crisis.”

The two men also “reaffirmed their determination to coordinate steps on international platforms and efforts to resist the ... illegal sanctions pressure that Russia and Belarus have been facing from unfriendly countries.”

In the almost 10 months since Moscow invaded Ukraine, Belarus, like its ally Russia, has been the target of wide-ranging sanctions imposed by the West.

Meeting Prompts Concern in Kyiv

Putin’s visit has prompted fears among Ukrainian officials that Belarus could be used as a staging ground for a potential Russian advance on Kyiv, as it was in the initial weeks of the conflict.

The Ukrainian capital is located roughly 95 miles south of the 675-mile-long border between Ukraine and Belarus.

On Dec. 18, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the defense of Ukraine’s borders with both Russia and Belarus “is our constant priority.”

“We are preparing for all possible defense scenarios,” he said, following a meeting with military officials.

Ukrainian Joint Armed Forces Commander Serhiy Nayev said earlier that the Putin–Lukashenko talks would likely involve “the broader involvement of the Belarusian armed forces in the [Russian] operation against Ukraine.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, for his part, recently described Belarus as Russia’s “No. 1 ally.”

Picture taken in 2009 shows Belarussian soldiers near an S-300 surface-to-air missile complex used during the joint Russian–Belarussian military exercises "West-2009," some 230 kilometers (143 miles) southwest of Minsk, Belarus, near the village of Volka. Viktor Drachev/AFP via Getty Images

But he dismissed claims that Moscow intended to pressure Minsk into joining the conflict as “stupid and unfounded fabrications.”

On Dec. 13, the U.S. Defense Department stated that it didn’t see “any type of impending cross-border activity by Belarus at this time.”

Despite its longstanding strategic partnership with Moscow, Belarus hasn’t played a role in the ongoing fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces. Lukashenko also has repeatedly said he has no intention of sending Belarusian troops into Ukraine to fight alongside Russia.

Nevertheless, alarm bells were raised in mid-October, when Moscow dispatched thousands of troops—and substantial amounts of military hardware—to Belarusian territory. Soon afterward, the Russian Air Force began staging regular patrol flights over the Belarusian border.

Ukrainian military officials have claimed previously that “enemy forces” were being trained in Belarus.

The Epoch Times was unable to verify the assertion.

Shoigu paid a visit to Minsk on Dec. 3, when he held talks with his Belarusian counterpart, Viktor Khrenin. According to Belarusian state media, the two men discussed bilateral military cooperation and amended an earlier regional security agreement.

‘We Will Never Be Russia’s Enemy’

Earlier this month, Lukashenko dismissed critics’ claims that the Union State Treaty with Russia represented a threat to Belarusian sovereignty.

“None of the programs [outlined in the treaty] violates our sovereignty and independence,” he told Belarus’s BelTA news agency on Dec. 16.

“If the leadership of the Russian Federation wants to build relations with the sovereign and independent state of Belarus ... we are ready to build such relationships.”

Lukashenko went on to stress the importance of maintaining close ties with Moscow.

“We will never be enemies of Russia,” he said. “This country [Russia] and its people are closest to us.”

Belarus is currently a member of several Russia-led regional organizations, including the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and the Eurasian Economic Union.

There have also been reports that Belarus may seek membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a formidable bloc of Eurasian states led by Moscow and Beijing.

Reuters contributed to this report.