Newsday - Why Presidents Putin and Lukashenko need each other - BBC Sounds

Russian fighter jets have flown into Belarus to help patrol the two countries' borders. The arrival of the aircraft coincides with a meeting between the countries' leaders Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow today. Belarus and Russia are already formally part of a 'union state' and could look for further integration, something which concerns NATO and many who are opposed to Mr Putin and Mr Lukashenko.

Dr Eleanor Bindman is an expert on Russia and Eastern Europe at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK. She told Newsday:

“In the last year since domestic politics in Belarus became much more complicated for President Lukashenko, he is coming from a position of weakness. He is becoming dependent on Russia as really his only supporter.”

“Even when Lukashenko talks about greater integration between the two countries, he is still quite keen to protect the sovereignty of Belarus itself.”

She said that Putin supports Belarus because “he is also facing opposition to his regime in Russia. It is meant to be a signal to protesters that he won’t tolerate that kind of behaviour at home. If there was to be any kind of regime change in Belarus that would be perceived as a big threat to the Russian regime.”