Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus and a close ally of the Russian leader, will visit Beijing this week, China’s foreign ministry said.

The news comes as US concerns grow that China is considering providing military aid to Russia.

Spokesperson Hua Chunying said Mr Lukashenko is due to visit on Tuesday, leaving on Thursday, but gave no details of his agenda.

Belarus has strongly backed Moscow and allowed its territory to be used as a staging ground for the initial invasion of Ukraine a year ago.

Mr Lukashenko has been Belarus’ only president since the position was created in 1994, and crushed 2020 protests over his disputed re-election.

The visit comes as top US officials repeated warnings to China against providing military aid to Russia in its war on Ukraine, saying that would bring heavy consequences.

CIA director William Burns repeated those earlier statements in an interview due to be broadcast on American channel CBS on Sunday, saying: “We’re confident that the Chinese leadership is considering the provision of lethal equipment.”

However, Burns added, “We also don’t see that a final decision has been made yet, and we don’t see evidence of actual shipments of lethal equipment.”

Providing such aid “would be a very risky and unwise bet,” he said.

Beijing claims to have a neutral stance on the war that began one year ago, but has also said it has a “no limits friendship” with Russia and has refused to criticise Moscow’s invasion or even call it that.

It has accused the West of provoking the conflict and “fanning the flames” by providing Ukraine with defensive arms.

It has accused the US of smearing it over the military aid allegations and reiterated that it seeks only peace between Russia and Ukraine.

Beijing on Friday issued a proposal calling for a cease-fire and peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky cautiously welcomed China’s involvement – but said success would depend on actions not words.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is believed to be preparing to visit Russia sometime in the coming months.