MINSK -- Belarusian authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet before the weekend as joint military maneuvers involving the two nations continue to stoke fears that Moscow may be planning to invade neighboring Ukraine.
Lukashenka said on February 14 that he will meet Putin "in the nearest future" to decide "when, on what terms, and on what schedule" Russian troops will start leaving Belarus after the exercises, which are expected to run until February 20.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to journalists in Moscow that Putin will meet Lukashenka, adding that "such a meeting is planned by the end of this week."
Peskov declined to answer a question on whether the two leaders would discuss the withdrawal of Russian troops from Belarus after the drills.
"Let us be patient, let us wait until the meeting. We hope that the two presidents will also make a joint statement after the talks," Peskov said.
With Belarus bordering both NATO's eastern flank and Ukraine, the exercises, involving some 30,000 Russian troops, have caused concern in the West over the Kremlin's true intentions given it has amassed, according to U.S. intelligence estimates, about 130,000 soldiers and military hardware in areas near the border with Ukraine.
Washington warned on February 11 that it fears Russia is in a position to launch an attack on Ukraine at any time.
Moscow denies Western accusations it may be planning such a move, saying it has the right to station troops anywhere it wants on Russian soil.