Alyaksandr Lukashenka likely tried to leverage Vladimir Putin’s concern over the Wagner Group throughout his visit to Russia to gain favorable conditions in Belarusian-Russian relations following Putin’s demands for closer integration into the Union State and support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, ISW reported.

A Russian insider source claimed that the Wagner Group was the most important topic during the Putin-Lukashenka meeting and that Lukashenko sought more economic assistance to Belarus through Union State programs, the Institute for the Study of War said.

The insider source also claimed that Putin wanted Belarus to be more involved in the war in Ukraine and rejected Lukashenka’s compromise offer to have Belarusian forces conduct a show of force on Belarus’ border with Ukraine

Lukashenko was likely trying to leverage Putin’s concern over the Wagner Group throughout the entire visit to Russia to gain favorable conditions in Belarusian-Russian relations while deflecting Putin’s demands for closer integration into the Union State and support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, ISW concludes.

Read more…