Western estimates put at about 30,000 the number of Russian troops taking part in the exercises – along with most of the Belarusian army.

Both Moscow and Brussels have played an active role in helping the two states forge a durable peace after two wars – including a 44-day conflict last year in which Azerbaijan made major advances to “deoccupy towns”.

Lukashenko’s support for Moscow stands in contrast with the neutrality he sought to adopt eight years ago when Russia seized the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine and fomented a separatist revolt in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.

The latest assessments from U.S. and Ukrainian analysts say more than 100,000 Russian troops are deployed on the Ukrainian border.

The recent crisis in Kazakhstan took many by surprise. Long considered the most prosperous and stable in Central Asia, it now suddenly appears fragile and weak.