Shannon VavraMay 16, 2022, 3:06 PM·5 min readIn this article:

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• Vladimir PutinPresident of Russia
• Alexander LukashenkoPresident of Belarus since 20 July 1994

Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted a meeting of the Russian-led military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), on Monday on the 30th anniversary of its founding—but the meeting was anything but celebratory.

Instead, the heads of state from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, which make up the collective defense organization, akin to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, went to the Kremlin Monday in Moscow to lament the world’s response to Putin’s war in Ukraine.

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, sitting in a massive room with sweeping high ceilings and ornate, gold-covered walls, whined about “hellish” sanctions from the West and efforts to isolate Russia and Belarus—which has been supporting Putin’s military moves in Ukraine—from the rest of the world.

“Belarus and Russia… are being defamed and excluded from international organizations at the whim of the West,” Lukashenko said.

In a joint statement, the CSTO also stated that it is concerned about “external borders of the CSTO,” noting that they maintain “readiness to ensure the security of the borders.”

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But Lukashenko complained that the members of the alliance haven’t been banding behind Russia as much as they should, especially as Russia works to address NATO’s expansion, a common argument Russian officials and allies have been using to justify the war in Ukraine. In a likely reference to Finland and Sweden expressing interest in joining NATO, Lukashenko called for more support as NATO’s threats continue, from “NATO saber-rattling near our western borders to a full-scale hybrid war unleashed against us,” according to Interfax.

“Russia should not fight alone against the expansion of NATO,” he said.

Putin himself complained about a “surge in frenzied Russophobia in the so-called civilized and politically correct Western countries,” and promised the expansion of NATO would “certainly evoke a response on our part. We will see what it will be like based on the threats that are created for us.”

(editor：)