Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said he had been asked to set up a reserve police force to help out should the security situation in Belarus worsen.

Putin said there was a body of Russian law enforcement officers prepared to enter Belarus to stop protests, but only if absolutely necessary.

“If extremists, hiding behind political slogans, cross certain boundaries and start looting, setting fire to cars, homes, banks, attempting to seize administrative buildings, and so on”, - said Putin, listing the circumstances under which Moscow might intervene.

The Russian president said the force had been formed at the request of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko: “I told him Russia would fulfill all its obligations. Alexander Grigorivich [Lukashenko] asked me to create a reserve police force and I have done that. But we agreed this would not be used unless the situation got out of control”.

However, Putin also admitted there were problems in Belarus, “otherwise people wouldn’t take to the streets”: “The parties to this process have enough common sense to find a way out without resorting to extremes”.