JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko praised the closer relations on Monday, almost no mention of the war that raged in Ukraine at a joint press conference.
Russian troops are known to use Belarus as a launch pad for their failed attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in February, and there have been Russian and Belarusian military activities there for months.
Ukrainian joint forces commander Serhiy Nayev said he believed Minsk's talks would discuss "further aggression against Ukraine and the wider involvement of Belarusian armed forces in operations against Ukraine."
Instead of war, the two leaders conveyed the issue of economic alignment, industry, and tighter defense between the two countries when giving statements to journalists.
Belarusian political opposition, which was largely pushed to prison, exile or silencing, fear of an annexation or "absorption" of Russia from its much smaller Slavian neighbors who, like Russia, have been harmed by Western economic sanctions. Neither President Putin nor Lukashenko rejected the idea.
"Russia is not interested in absorbing anyone. There is no point in this... This is not a takeover, this is a matter of policy alignment," President Putin said.
Asked about this comment, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said it should be treated as "an irony level", given it "derived from a leader who is currently looking for, at this time, to violently absorb the peace of his neighbor.
He added Washington would continue to closely observe whether Belarus would provide additional support to Putin or not, would respond "appropriately" if it was done.
Lukashenko, at one point called Putin a "brother", praising Russia as a friend who has "longed his hand to us", giving Belarus oil and gas at a discounted price.
"Russia can manage without us, but we can't (manage) without Russia," he said.
The perception that President Lukashenko relies on Putin for his survival has fanned the fear in Kyiv that President Putin would pressure him to join a new ground attack and open a new front in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine's top general, Valery Zaluzhniy, told The Economist last week Russia was preparing 200,000 new troops for a major attack that could come from east, south or Belarus in early January, but more likely in spring.
It is known that Moscow and Minsk have formed joint military units in Belarus and held many exercises. Three Russian warplanes as well as early warning aircraft and air control (AWACS) were deployed to Belarus last week.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov who spoke to Russian news agencies prior to the meeting said Moscow's assessment wanted to draw Minsk into conflict was "stupid and baseless".
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