Russian President Vladimir Putin flew to Belarus on Monday to meet Aleksandr Lukashenko.
It was his first visit to Minsk since 2019 and, according to The Guardian, there is now concern in some quarters that Putin is trying to pressure the former Soviet republic to join a new ground offensive and resume a new front.
But it is only Belarus itself that decides its fate, no one else, Lukashenko said in a statement before the meeting.
A statement Bert Sundström does not give much for:
- Lukashenko is completely dependent on support from Russia and Putin, he says.
"The height of irony"
After the meeting, the authoritarian leaders held a joint press conference.
But instead of touching on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Belarus' involvement in it, they talked about the countries' good relations.
Opposition figures in Belarus have warned that the country could be annexed, or "absorbed", by its powerful neighbour, but that was dismissed by Vladimir Putin.
- Russia has no interest in absorbing anyone.
There is simply no expediency to it, he said.
A statement that was called the "height of irony" given that Putin is now trying to absorb Ukraine, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Monday night.
Likened Putin to brother
Lukashenko at one point likened Putin to an older brother and praised Russia for reaching out to Belarus by offering discounted oil and gas.
- Russia can do without us, but we cannot do without Russia, Lukashenko said.
When Russia tried to invade Kyiv last spring, Russian ground troops came out of Belarus.
Lukashenko has repeatedly said that Belarus will not participate militarily in the war in Ukraine.
"Ready to put up a lot"
But the question is whether he can go against Putin's will, if the Russian president would like military support from Belarus, says Bert Sundström.
- Lukashenko has shown in the past that he is prepared to put up with much of what Vladimir Putin wants, but there is great opposition in Belarus to seeing Belarusian soldiers enter Ukraine.