Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says his country must participate in discussions and that no deal can be reached “behind Belarus’s back.”
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has stated that his country must participate in peace talks in Ukraine, and that he expects to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming days.
On Thursday, Belarusian state news agency Belta quoted Lukashenko as saying, “There can be no separate deals behind Belarus’s back.”
Since you brought us into this – mostly Western countries – Belarus’ stance must be acknowledged throughout these negotiations.”
At a meeting with top security chiefs, Lukashenko frequently used the word “war,” a language prohibited by Moscow.
Vladimir Makei, the Russian foreign minister, went even farther, adding that Lukashenko “must attend the [last] meeting.”
On February 24, Russia launched tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine from Russian and Belarusian territory in a “special military operation” aimed at demilitarizing and “denazifying” its neighbor.
That is a bogus justification, according to Ukraine and Western countries, for a campaign of aggression that has caused over 10 million people to evacuate their homes and destroyed cities and towns.
Thousands of civilians have been killed or injured, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Belarus, on the other hand, has been included in the sweeping sanctions imposed on Russia by the European Union, the United States, and others.
“We don’t need this conflict,” Lukashenko said, according to Belta. “Because we are the ones who may suffer the most as a result of this confrontation between two Slavic peoples.”
He expressed his dissatisfaction with Minsk’s absence from rounds of peace talks held in Belarus and Istanbul between delegations from Kyiv and Moscow.
Belarus has permitted Russian forces to use the country’s border with Ukraine as a staging area, and it has hosted three rounds of peace negotiations near the Ukrainian border.
Last month’s negotiations in Istanbul, Lukashenko claimed, were the result of “pressure from the west on Ukraine not to go to Belarus at any cost.”
Belarus, he claimed, was not insisting on the talks taking place on its soil.
“Let them have their meetings there.” The most important thing is that there is a result. Because, as I have previously stated, war is extremely harmful to Belarus.”
Despite the fact that Belarus today relies largely on Russia for economic and military support, Lukashenko has tried to distance himself from Moscow in the past in order to improve relations with the EU.
In 2020, the Kremlin aided Lukashenko in suppressing what remained of Belarus’ political opposition by brutally suppressing major pro-democracy rallies alleging fraud in an election that gave him a sixth consecutive term as president.
Source: News Agency
