President Vladimir Putin endorsed a plan to establish joint military training centres with Belarus on Tuesday, as fears grew that Minsk could enter the Ukraine conflict to fight with Moscow.
Putin issued a decree on Tuesday instructing the defense and foreign ministers to negotiate with Belarus and sign an agreement establishing the facilities.
The text did not identify where their headquarters will be.
Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, which began on February 24 of last year, was launched from Belarusian territory, with Minsk’s permission.
Alexander Lukashenko, the strongman leader of Belarus, has reiterated that he will not send Belarusian troops into Ukraine despite growing military collaboration with Russia.
In October, Minsk said that it was building a regional force in conjunction with Moscow, with several thousand Russian personnel arriving in the nation.
This month, Moscow and Minsk began conducting joint air force exercises in Belarus, which are slated to continue through February 1.
»Putin supports military training facilities in Belarus«