Aleksandr Lukashenko

Tanjug cited the report on Sunday to say that the contract will be signed by presidents of Serbia and Belarus Aleksandar Vucic and Aleksandr Lukashenko.

The daily further said, citing an unnamed source, that the two sides have already agreed on the acquisition and will ink the deal in March.

Belarus stands ready to put in "maximum effort" to help wind down tensions between Russia and Turkey, but cannot impose mediation on either side, PM Vladimir Makei has said.

EU foreign ministers have agreed on a provisional commitment to a four-month lifting of sanctions imposed on Belarus.

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has said he will not attend Victory Day celebrations in Russian capital Moscow on May 9.

Lukashenko has cited the need to receive Minsk's own parade marking the 70th anniversary since the end of World War Two in 1945.

Six Russian Su-27 fighter jets and three military transport planes have been deployed at Bobruisk airfield in Belarus Thursday to boost the airspace defenses of the two countries.

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko has invited Russian forces to fend off potential NATO threat, Russian RT news reports.