French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna warned Belarus against entering the war. “We must alert the country. Any additional support for the war Russia is waging against Ukraine will result in further sanctions,” Colonna told France Inter today. This will also be an issue in the forthcoming G-7 deliberations.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko yesterday accused Ukraine of planning an attack on his country.
As a consequence, he announced the formation of a joint alliance of Belarusian and Russian troops, but gave no information on their location.
Belarus: “Purely Defensive”
Belarus is a close ally of Russia. In the months before Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine, the neighboring country made its territory available to Russian troops. The deployment of Belarusian soldiers would mean a new level of escalation in the conflict in Ukraine.
More recently, Belarus confirmed that this was a “purely defensive” contingent. In a statement, Belarus Defense Minister Viktor Chrenin said that all activities are currently aimed at “having an adequate response to actions close to our border”.
Poland warns against traveling to Belarus
Meanwhile, Poland has advised its population not to travel to neighboring Belarus. Recently, there have been several arrests of Polish citizens, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw said on Twitter.
“If the situation worsens, borders are closed and unexpected situations arise, evacuation could become difficult.” The ministry advises Poles who are currently in Belarus to leave the country.