Lukashenko, Lavrov hold talks possibly on defense ministers’ secret protocol - Belarusian opposition leader Latushka

He shared his opinion with Espreso TV.

"Lavrov came to Minsk for a regular meeting. When I was the head of the Information Department of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, I had to participate in such meetings and, basically, it was a lot of chatter, empty protocols, coordination of activities within the UN, OSCE, and even earlier the Council of Europe. But now the role of Russia and Belarus in the UN is zero, and their role in the OSCE has been eliminated altogether, because they are two pariah states. As for the Council of Europe, Russia has left it, and Belarus has never been its part," commented the Belarusian opposition leader.

Pavel Latushka emphasized an interesting fact that the meeting was held one-on-one between Lukashenko and Lavrov, and even Belarusian Foreign Minister Aleynik remained outside the door.

"Of course, we don't know what exactly they talked about. However, in my opinion, it could have been about the implementation of the secret protocol signed by Shoigu and Khrenin (Belarusian Defense Minister - ed.). You probably remember Shoigu's unexpected visit to Minsk and the signing of this agreement in Machulishchy. According to our information, this protocol is classified as "top secret," and only a few people know about its contents. We can only assume that it refers to the joint command of the military grouping, the Russian leadership over this grouping, and the increase in the number of Belarusian and Russian troops to 100,000, a figure that was voiced earlier. I think the war was the main topic discussed by Lukashenko and Lavrov. And Lukashenko asked for as much money as possible, because he always asks only for money, because it ensures his power. Without a gold reserve, Lukashenko's days will be numbered, and only Russia can give him such a reserve," Latushka said.

• On January 16, a joint air and tactical exercise of aviation units of the armed forces of Belarus and Russia, which are part of the regional grouping of troops, started.

• As of January 18, US intelligence found no evidence of Russian forces preparing an offensive into Ukraine from Belarus.

• On January 20, ISW predicted when an offensive from Belarus might take place.