Belarus will not formally merge with Russia in the near future, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko said on March 14 while addressing the Russian Federation Council.
"If we are going to burst through this open door, we will ruin everything we have done. It is necessary to go calmly, step by step," Lukashenko said.
In early January, independent Russian media Meduza reported, citing sources close to the Kremlin, that Putin may revisit plans to formally absorb Belarus once the war against Ukraine is resolved.
Despite his claim of maintaining relations with a range og global actors including China, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the EU, Lukashenko said that Minsk will "always side with Moscow."
"It can't be otherwise. Belarus will never leave Russia alone, just as Russia will never leave Belarus," he added, highlighting what he described as "open fraternal relations" between the two countries.
Lukashenko's visit to Russia marks his first trip since securing a seventh presidential term in an election widely denounced as a sham. On March 13, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Following their talks, Lukashenko and Putin signed a joint statement pledging to expand bilateral trade, economic, and investment cooperation.
Belarus has been largely cut off from the West following Lukashenko's violent crackdown on mass protests in 2020 against fraudulent election results.
Since then, his regime has further curtailed political freedoms and deepened its alignment with Moscow, providing logistical and military support for Russia's war against Ukraine.
Even before launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin reportedly had devised a plan for the "creeping annexation" of Belarus by 2030.
The plan outlined steps for "harmonizing" Russian and Belarusian laws, "coordinated foreign and defense policy," and economic integration based on Russian interests.
President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed on Feb. 14 that Russia is once again building up troops in Belarus, possibly in preparation for large-scale operations against NATO countries.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
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