U.S. military officers on Monday observed joint war games between Russia and Belarus in an apparent deepening of ties between the Trump administration and Belarus, a close ally of Moscow.
The military drills, known as “Zapad-2025,” began Friday at training grounds in both countries amid the backdrop of heightened tensions with NATO after member country Poland last week shot down Russian drones that crossed into its airspace.
The two uniformed U.S. officers who attended the war drills were personally greeted by Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenikov, who shook their hands. The two, speaking in Russian, thanked him for inviting them, according to Reuters.
“We will show whatever is of interest for you. Whatever you want. You can go there and see, talk to people,” the minister told the American officers, as reported by Reuters.
The ministry later released a video of the handshake with the two U.S. officers, who attended the drills along with representatives from 23 countries, including NATO member states Turkey and Hungary.
“Who would have thought how the morning of another day of the Zapad-2025 exercise would begin?” the Belarus government said in a statement.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.
The American officers’ trip was the first such visit since Russia used Belarus as a staging ground to pour tens of thousands of its troops into Ukraine at the start of its February 2022 invasion of the country. Belarus has also allowed Russia to station tactical nuclear weapons in the country.
Coupled with the trip taken by White House special envoy John Coale to Minsk last week for talks with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, the visit appears to reflect President Trump’s growing ties with the former Soviet state.
Trump, who on Thursday suggested Russia’s alleged drone incursion into Poland could have been a mistake, last week lifted sanctions on Belarus’s national airline Belavia. Trump also wants to soon reopen the U.S. Embassy in Belarus, according to Coale.
Tensions are still high, however, between NATO and Russia after Poland shot down Kremlin drones in its airspace Wednesday. The incident marked the first time a member of the military alliance has fired shots during Russia’s war in Ukraine.