Belarus is able to quickly deploy five hundred thousand of its own personnel, but if it is not enough, all Russian armed forces will be brought in, stated Alexander Lukashenko in a special interview on Friday.

Belarussian tyrant said Friday he’s prepared to invite Russian troops into the country if such a move is necessary to ensure the security of both Belarus and Russia.

But, Mr. Alexander Lukashenko said, at the moment “there is absolutely no need” to do that.

In remarks carried by the state-run Belta news agency, Lukashenko stressed that he had dealt with last year’s anti-government protests without involving other countries’ armed forces, but added that he would not hesitate to bring in Russian troops if necessary.

Belarus is able to quickly deploy 500,000 of its own personnel, but “if it is not enough, all Russian armed forces will be brought in,” Lukashenko said, according to Belta. “If it is necessary, we won’t hesitate.”

Kremlin spokesman Mr. Dmitry Peskov said Friday that Moscow hasn’t received any official requests from Belarus to deploy troops, and the move “is possible only after an official request from the leadership of one country to the leadership of other.”


Moscow and Minsk have tightened already close military and economic ties

Russia and Belarus have close military and defense ties. Two Russian radar stations communicating with nuclear submarines in the Atlantic and Indian oceans and parts of the Pacific are based in Belarus. In September, the two ex-Soviet nations are scheduled to conduct large-scale joint military exercises.

Until recently, Mr. Lukashenko’s government had resisted Moscow’s attempts to expand military presence in Belarus and rejected requests to open an airbase and station additional troops in the country.

But amid the political crisis that unfolded in Belarus after Mr. Lukashenko’s reelection to a sixth term in August 2020 was met with huge protests, Russia promised its neighbor military support and allocated a $1.5 billion loan for Belarus’ ailing economy.