The self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko expressed a wish for Russia, upon completion of joint maneuvers, to leave some of its ammunition on Belarusian territory. Moreover, he stated that he would also like to get Russian missile systems.
"We agreed (I am being frank with you, although I should evade answering this question): if we need some ammunition so as not to lug it back and forth, we will leave it here. Regarding equipment. I studied the issue today: there are several types of promising equipment that we need. Iskanders and not only them. We will buy this equipment, and we will get it as a gift from our older brothers," Lukashenko said.
Two days before, he stated that only he and Putin would decide when to withdraw Russian forces from Belarus.
"Today they scream their lungs out: "When will you withdraw the troops?" (Russians from Belarus—
). Look, this is our business with Putin. We will meet shortly and decide when, in what time frame, according to what schedule to withdraw the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from here. This is our business," he stressed.
Context. Recall that just the day before Vladimir Makei, the head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, assured that not a single military equipment belonging to the Russian Federation would remain in the country after the maneuvers. He added that these exercises are justified—Belarus is concerned about the increase in the activity of the North Atlantic Alliance on the eastern flank.
Large-scale joint military Russian-Belarusian joint drills Allied Resolve 2022 are in progress in Belarus. They are expected to end on February 20th. NATO has previously described them as the greatest Russian deployment in this region since the Cold War.
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