Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Minsk on December 19 for talks with self-proclaimed Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

Putin's visit to Belarus was the first since 2019.

Officially, the topic of the talks between Moscow and Minsk was called "strengthening defense capabilities" and economic cooperation, but experts are convinced that the two dictators met to discuss the further transformation of Belarus into a Russian military base, as well as the creation of a springboard for a new offensive on the territory of Ukraine.   

TSN.ua collected details of the talks between Putin and Lukashenka.

The official part of the meeting

The Russian president arrived in Minsk accompanied by fighter jets.

During his flight, three more Russian government planes were raised in the air for the conspiracy.

Putin was met by girls with bread and salt, and Lukashenko with his younger son Mykola.

Then their motorcades arrived in Minsk to the Independence Palace.

Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergey Shoigu and the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov also flew to Minsk.

According to official reports, Shoigu and the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Belarus Viktor Khrenin have already discussed certain issues of military-technical cooperation and "strengthening the defense capabilities of the two states."

In turn, the leaders of the two states allegedly discussed economic cooperation, and Lukashenko declared "the need for a dialogue between the West and Russia."

At the open part of the negotiations, Putin stated that the economy is a "priority in relations between Russia and Belarus" and expressed hope for an increase in trade between the two states.

Lukashenko said that "his country and Russia are finding common answers to threats."

Lukashenko addressed the West and called on the civilized world to "listen to the voice of reason and resume security dialogue with Russia." 

The self-proclaimed Belarusian president also spoke about the consequences of the sanction and the need to cooperate with the aggressor state to "ensure the welfare of its citizens." 

What does the Kremlin need from Lukashenko 

According to the Center of National Resistance, Putin is trying to gain control over the Belarusian defense-industrial complex for further aggression against Ukraine.

"The opportunity to fully use the Belarusian military defense system can become a bargaining chip during the talks between dictators Putin and Lukashenka in Minsk, scheduled for December 19," the report says.

The Center of National Resistance notes that 

Putin continues to pressure Lukashenka to directly involve the Belarusian military in the war in Ukraine

.

But there, at the moment, such a step is considered unlikely.

"The Belarusian army continues to serve the Russian troops stationed in Belarus. It is possible that Lukashenko will be ready to make concessions regarding control over the country's defense industry during negotiations with Putin," the Central Intelligence Agency added.

Military expert

Serhii Grabsky

believes that Putin's visit is connected with his plans to finally annex Belarus.

"In my opinion, Putin is going to Belarus with the Minister of Defense in order to

finally secure the annexation of Belarus and turn it into a real bridgehead from which not only airstrikes, but also ground operations can be carried out

," Grabskyi said on the channel. Freedom".

In his opinion, the visit is taking place right now, "because

December 30 is the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Soviet Union

."

"Now it is necessary to give the population of the Russian Federation some positive news, to try to rally around this news about the return of the Soviet Union, as always "surrounded by a ring of enemies", the population of Russia, which is beginning to doubt the feasibility of conducting an operation, which they call a special military operation," the expert explained .

Grabskyi also believes that one of the main topics of the meeting is

the deployment of Russian troops on the territory of Belarus and the use of Belarusian training centers for the training of Russian soldiers

.

Read also:

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  • Everything is ready for the offensive of the Russian army from the territory of Belarus, but there is a nuance - an expert

  • Why Lukashenko does not dare to openly enter the war - the expert named the main factors