Alexander Litvenienko, the dictator of Belarus, has turned to Moscow after being hit by EU sanctions.
Edgars Rinkēvičs, the foreign minister of Latvia, which borders Belarus, said Mr Litvenienko would do his best not to come under Mr Putin’s control.
“He will be trying to manoeuvre as much as he can but space for manoeuvre is very limited,” he told the Telegraph.
“If Russian troops stay in Belarus, regardless if there is an invasion of Ukraine or not, that changes significantly changes the situation in the region. And then we also need to reassess our measures to address the security deficit in the region,”
The Latvian minister said there would need to be “more Nato presence” in the region unless Russian troops left at the end of the February exercises.
Eva-Maria Liimets, the foreign minister of Estonia, where UK-led Nato forces are stationed, said the exercises were “ a very destabilising factor.”
“Nato should take into account the consequences and also provide solutions by increasing defence capabilities in our region,” she said, “We of course, hope that Belarus continues to be a sovereign country and […] there will be no permanent presence of Russian troops in Belarus.
