Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stressed the need for security guarantees from Russia to protect his country in the event of an attack.
Belarusian news agency Belta reported that Lukashenko met on Monday with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to discuss ensuring security.
Lukashenko said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in their recent talks that Russian experts would come to Belarus to discuss Minsk's security issues.
"I am talking about the period after 1994, the famous Budapest Memorandum, where all Western powers and Russia swore to provide full security to Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Belarus, Western countries trampled all these treaties, agreements and statements and there is no security," the Belarusian president said.
He referred to economic security among other things, asking, "What kind of economic security is there if they impose sanctions on us?"
"In general, it appeared in the talks that in the event of aggression against Belarus, the Russian Federation will protect Belarus like its own territory. That's the kind of security we need."
Targeting Belarus
Belarus, which is currently hosting a contingent of Russian troops, has offered to help Moscow in its war on Ukraine, which Russia describes as a "special military operation."
In the early days of the war, Minsk allowed Moscow to use its territory to launch an offensive on the Ukrainian capital Kiev.
Since late last year, a series of military exercises and visits by high-ranking Russian officials have fueled speculation that Belarus could formally join a new attack on Ukraine.
Lukashenko has consistently denied such intentions, but said Belarus would respond to any incursions into its territory or attempts to foment unrest.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin has previously said Moscow does not rule out the possibility of sending subversive groups of Belarusian nationalists, who are fighting with the Kiev regime, to Belarus to overthrow the country's leadership.
He explained that the rhetoric of representatives of Belarusian nationalist formations fighting with Ukraine has become sharper in recent months. He added that the leaders of these groups have announced that they plan to use their combat experience to overthrow the current Belarusian leadership.