Putin could have annexed Belarus during 2020 protests - Belarusian dissident Pazniak

He said this on the Espreso TV channel.

"Putin and the KGB, when they came to power in Russia, initially planned to annex Belarus to Russia. In 2002, Putin made a proposal to Lukashenko to annex Belarus to Russia with six provinces. This caused a very big scandal at the time. Putin has been pursuing this policy all along, from the very beginning of his presidency," Pazniak said.

The politician also said that the Kremlin was planning a coup d'état in Belarus in 2020.

"Lukashenko is an illegitimate figure in Belarus. The West has not recognized any elections in Belarus. However, in order to annex Belarus to Russia, Putin needed to deal with Lukashenko. And this became a problem because Lukashenko is very clingy to power. In 2017, the Kremlin came up with a plan to replace Lukashenko with a pro-Russian candidate. This candidate was Viktor Babaryko. By 2020, he had a team and a political program ready. He also created the basis for a pro-Russian party in Belarus. Therefore, in 2020, Putin had a great chance to annex Belarus if he supported the protests. Belarusians would have considered him their savior," he added.

• On January 16, a joint flight and tactical exercise of aviation units of the armed forces of Belarus and Russia, which are part of a regional grouping of troops, began.
• On January 20, ISW predicted when an offensive from Belarus might take place