Moscow's Support for Minsk 'Absolute', Attack on Belarus Would Be Equal to Strike on Russia: Kremlin

Russia and Belarus are allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), and engage in joint training aimed at integrating the two countries' military structures within the Union State.

Russia's military support for Belarus is "absolute," and Moscow would deem any attack against Minsk to be equivalent to an attack on Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov has said.

"We are united by mutual obligations [on defence], firstly, within the framework of our Union State, and secondly, within the framework of the CSTO. Naturally, any attack on any member of the CSTO, especially against our closest ally, would in essence be equal to an attack on the Russian Federation", Peskov said, speaking to Belarusian television on Saturday.

"Therefore, there is absolute mutual support for one another by Russia and Belarus, this is an absolute constant and no one should question this [fact]", he added.

Ukraine Negotiations

Commenting on Russia's peace negotiations with Ukraine, and why the talks have moved out of Belarus to Turkey, a NATO member, Peskov said Kiev didn't want them to be held in Belarus from the very start, and isn't ready to continue them there now.

"In order for negotiations between two parties to take place, especially between parties which have such a complex [relationship] as Russia and Ukraine do today, it's necessary to have the mutual consent of all sides. And, in fact, the first two rounds of talks which took place in Belarus came with great difficulty", Peskov said.

The Ukrainian side "actually didn't want to go there until the final moment", he revealed, recalling that when the Russian delegation arrived for the first round of negotiations, they had to wait around for the Ukrainians for nearly a day, and did not know whether they would come or not.

"We would be happy to continue negotiations in Belarus, but the Ukrainians don't want this. For some reason, it's not convenient for them. But you must admit that the main thing is to find a place where it's possible to converge with the Ukrainian negotiators, and that talks continue, whether it's in Istanbul or somewhere else", Peskov said.

Russian and Ukrainian officials held the first three rounds of peace talks in Belarus before switching to a virtual format, and then to face-to-face negotiations in Turkey. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been facilitating talks between Moscow and Kiev since 2014, expressed readiness to continue providing his country as a negotiations platform.

Peskov said the peace negotiations with Kiev continue to be difficult. Contemporary Ukraine is a "very difficult country" for Moscow, the Kremlin spokesman noted, adding that in its current state, Kiev's status is best described as "hostile".

Peskov said the current government in Kiev is not friendly to either Russia or Belarus, pointing to Ukrainian authorities' support for the attempted colour revolution in Minsk in 2020, as well as Kiev's aspirations to join NATO, and its efforts to "nurture" forces that "walk down the street and march with Nazi swastikas".

"This is a country which has completely banned any Russian-speaking and Russian media, a country that has made the Russian language secondary", he said. Peskov also pointed to the network of Pentagon-funded biolabs operating in Ukraine, saying that the "extremely dangerous pathogens, microbes and viruses" held there, as well as "projects to create new types of weapons, biological weapons, which are meant to target certain ethnic groups", are a threat to both Russia and Belarus.

Commenting on the state of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, Peskov insisted that it was "in full swing" and that "the military potential and infrastructure" of Ukraine "have been largely destroyed".