Belarus President Lukashenko excludes war with Ukraine

Belarus is not involved in the aggravation of relations with Ukraine. Belarus has no intention to wage war with Ukraine either as it is only Western countries that want to take advantage of the possible conflict, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with Oleksandr Moroz, the former Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament (the Verkhovna Rada), the former head of the Socialist Party of Ukraine, BelTA news agency reports.

"I can already see Ukrainian politicians weaselling out of the general line of the West. You see, I know exactly what the West needs here today: they need to unleash a conflict. They know how to wage a proxy war. They do not care if Ukrainians, Russians, Belarusians die — this would be far away from them,” Alexander Lukashenko said.

If Belarus was planning a war against Ukraine, the media would act differently, he added.

"The media work like artillery preparation for modern warfare. As soon as these cries about the war in Ukraine subside for a moment, a signal comes from the USA again and this hysteria starts heating up again. It is an open secret who needs this war," Lukashenko believes.

According to him, Belarus has practically nothing to do with the aggravation of relations between Minsk and Kiev, because the country has always pursued a clear and understandable policy шт relation to Ukraine.

Lukashenko wants to meet Putin ASAP

In addition, the Belarusian president announced his intention to hold a meeting with Russian President Putin in the near future.

"Today they all scream and shout, asking when the troops are going to be pulled back [Russian troops that conduct military exercises in Belarus — ed.]. Listen, this is our business with Putin. We are going to meet in the near future and decide when, at what time, and according to what schedule we should withdraw the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from here,” Lukashenko said.

Lukashenko's statements were made against the background of NATO's military buildup in Eastern Europe. US President Joe Biden announced Russia's intention to invade Ukraine on February 16. Following Biden's announcement, Western countries started closing their embassies in Kiev, and many foreign diplomatic departments called on their citizens to leave Ukraine.

On February 10, Russia and Belarus kicked off Union Resolve 2022 war games on the territory of Belarus. The purpose of the exercises is to practice missions to stop and repel external aggression during a defensive operation, to counter terrorism and protect the interests of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, representatives for the Russian Defence Ministry said.

In late January, Belarus President Lukashenko said that in the event of an attack on Belarus, hundreds of thousands of Belarusian and Russian military would fight to defend it. War may break out only in case of direct aggression against Minsk or Moscow, he also said.