Belarus in 2023 - страница 4

At a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko officially asked Russia to expand security guarantees against an external attack. Lukashenko defined the desired level of guarantees as "Russia will defend the republic as its own territory in case of aggression." According to Lukashenko, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has already expressed approval for the provision of such guarantees: "He absolutely supported me in all directions."