Latvia clarifies after foreign minister calls Belarus 'part of a Russian military district'

April 6 (UPI) -- Latvia's Foreign Ministry has clarified remarks from Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs, who appeared to indicate Sunday that he did not consider Belarus a sovereign nation.

Rinkēvičs, speaking in an interview with CBS News, said Sunday that he considered Belarus a "part of a Russian military district."

"Minister's comments were not about the legal status of Belarus, but rather about the increasingly limited freedom for Minsk to make its own decisions," the Latvian Foreign Ministry said in an emailed statement to UPI.

"Ever-increasing integration between Russia and Belarus, permanent presence of Russian armed forces in Belarus, allowing the Russian forces to attack Ukraine from the territory of Belarus and the most recent decision to base Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus all show that the regime in Minsk no longer takes its independent decisions on the military issues."

Belarus' Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment from UPI.

Latvia, a member of the NATO alliance, shares borders with Russia and Belarus. In his remarks, Rinkēvičs urged the U.S.-led alliance not to "overreact" to a recent announcement from Russian President Vladimir Putin that he would send tactical nuclear weapons to the Russian ally.

A spokesperson for NATO called Russia's announcement "dangerous and irresponsible" in an emailed statement to UPI last week.

"Let's face it, Russian nuclear weapons have already been deployed in Kaliningrad, near our borders, even before [Russia's 2014 invasion of] Crimea started," Rinkēvičs told CBS News.

"I would view this as some kind of bargaining chip. Something to blackmail our societies."

Meanwhile, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told Russian state media Thursday that NATO is building up resources and capabilities near Belarus and Russia.

"They are especially concerned about the Kaliningrad Region," he said at a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus.

Putin on Thursday added during the meeting that Belarus and Russia are "stepping up" their defense and security cooperation.