What did Russia and Belarus agree in Minsk on 6 December 2024?
A look back at a security-guarantees agreement signed by the presidents of Russia and Belarus, and a Baltic incident days earlier.
What did Moscow and Minsk commit to on 6 December 2024? On that day, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed an agreement in Minsk offering security guarantees to Belarus. As reported at the time, the guarantees included nuclear security and the possible use of Russian nuclear weapons in order to repel aggressions.
The signing was covered as part of the nuclear risk surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and as a development in relations between Belarus and Russia.
A tense backdrop in the Baltic
Two days earlier, on 4 December 2024, a Russian Navy warship fired warning shots at a German helicopter conducting a routine patrol over the Baltic Sea. The helicopter pilots had to make evasive manoeuvres. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock condemned the incident as part of Russia's hybrid warfare against NATO.
Taken together, the two reports showed Russia's relations with its neighbours and with NATO under strain in the first week of December 2024.
