– The pinnacle of irony

Russian President Vladimir Putin has made only a few trips abroad since the pandemic broke out in 2020, but he made a rare visit to Minsk on Monday to meet his Belarusian counterpart Aleksandr Lukashenko.

Ahead of the meeting, several experts speculated whether Putin’s goal was to convince Lukashenko to send soldiers to the front in Ukraine or to convince the country to participate in a joint counter-offensive. Shortly after the meeting between the two heads of state, Putin announced that Russia and Belarus had agreed to continue holding military exercises together, in addition to they will jointly develop military equipment.

The visit – and subsequent statements – caused unrest in Ukraine, which now fears Belarusian participation in the war, writes The Guardian.

– The pinnacle of irony

Putin and Lukashenko were also said to have talked about forming a common “defensive territory” together, but Putin stressed, however, that Russia had no intention of “absorbing” anyone, not even Belarus. The Russian news agency Ria Novosti wrote it on Monday.

Ned Price, spokesman for the US State Department, believes these statements are “the height of irony”, as it is clear that Putin is trying to drag Belarus into the war.

– The Lord visits his servant

– The United States will continue to monitor closely whether Belarus will provide further support to Russia’s war. If they do, we’ll respond appropriately, says Price Sky Newswithout emphasizing what a possible answer would entail.

Moldova is also worried about the development of the war, which warns of a “very high risk” of a Russian offensive in the country.

– The question is not whether the Russian Federation will launch another attack on the territory of Moldova, but when it will do it, says Alexandru Musteata, head of the intelligence and security service in the country, according to Sky News.

Doubts about participation

Although Russia and Vladimir Putin probably want Belarus to become an active party in the war in Ukraine, Western experts believe that it is unlikely that Belarus will invade Village.

As recently as last week, Norwegian expert on Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, author and adviser to the Helsinki Committee, Arve Hansen told Dagbladet that He doesn’t think it’s a likely move — but I didn’t want to rule out the possibility altogether.

– As I see it, it would not be a rational action to draw Belarus into the war even more than the country already is, but rationality does not always reign in either Moscow or Minsk, he said.

– It will escalate until it collapses

Hansen further explained that it is in Russia’s interest to create the impression that Belarus can take an active part in the war in Ukraine.

– Uncertainty itself benefits Russia. Only the threat of an attack from the north forces the Ukrainians to take it seriously. They share a 1,084-kilometer border with Belarus and an attack from there could be very damaging, said Hansen, who has previously studied and lived in Belarus.