The authoritarian ruler of Belarus, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, told Russia's defense minister on April 10 that he wanted guarantees that Moscow would defend Belarus in the event of an attack.
Lukashenka made the comment in talks with visiting Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Minsk, Belarusian state-owned news agency BelTA reported.
Lukashenka was quoted as saying that Belarus needs guarantees that Russia will defend the country "like its own territory" if attacked, and he said he had discussed the security guarantees with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a meeting on April 5.
Lukashenka was quoted as saying that Putin had agreed with him that such security guarantees were necessary.
He said it seemed during his talks with Putin that "in the case of aggression against Belarus, the Russian Federation would protect Belarus as its own territory. These are the kind of security [guarantees] we need," Lukashenka was quoted as saying.
Belarus, which currently hosts a contingent of Russian forces, allowed Russia to use its territory to launch an assault on Kyiv in the early days of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It also has participated in military drills with Russia and received high-level Russian officials, sparking speculation that Belarus may join a new offensive on Ukraine.
Lukashenka has denied having such intentions but has said that Belarus would respond to any incursions onto its territory or attempts to foment unrest.
Putin recently announced that Russia plans to place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. He said Russia was building a storage facility in Belarus.
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said the move was "in accordance with international law" and didn't contradict the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), a landmark pact aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.
Minsk also claimed it was "forced" to agree to host Russian tactical nuclear weapons in response to what it claimed was the "unprecedented political, economic, and information pressure" from the West.
Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, urged Belarus not to host Russian nuclear weapons and said the bloc could impose further sanctions against Minsk if it did.