Ukraine representatives called Putin to talk – Belarus President Lukashenko

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko revealed in an interview with Russia 1 TV channel that Ukrainian officials had made secret phone calls to Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Photo: en.kremlin.ru by Presidential Executive Office of Russia, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Vladimir Putin

Even though there are no truly reliable negotiators in Ukraine, "we still talk to them," Lukashenko noted.

"I won’t say more – let Vladimir Vladimirovich speak. He spoke with them. They called him, they told him things. He spoke with some of them," Lukashenko said.

According to Lukashenko, there was an agreement that those conversations would remain private, so he could not disclose any details. However, he suggested that Putin himself might choose to do so.

"Well, maybe Vladimir Vladimirovich will take the risk and say who called him. They called him to talk," Lukashenko added.

The day before, the Belarusian president stated that resolving the situation in Ukraine would only be possible after Russia fully utilizes its negotiating potential. According to him, Moscow holds the advantage on the front lines, allowing it to dictate terms, and therefore, accepting US proposals currently seems unreasonable.

Details

 
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko  (born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making him the current longest-serving European leader. Before embarking on his political career, Lukashenko worked as the director of a state farm (sovkhoz) and served in both the Soviet Border Troops and the Soviet Army. In 1990, Lukashenko was elected to the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, he assumed the position of head of the interim anti-corruption committee of the Supreme Council of Belarus. In 1994, he won the presidency in the country's inaugural presidential election after the adoption of a new constitution. Lukashenko opposed economic shock therapy during the 1990s post-Soviet transition, maintaining state ownership of key industries in Belarus. This spared Belarus from recessions as devastating as those in other post-Soviet states and the former Eastern Bloc countries which prevented the rise of oligarchy. Lukashenko's maintenance of the socialist economic model is consistent with the retaining of Soviet-era symbolism, including the Russian language, coat of arms and national flag. These symbols were adopted after a controversial 1995 referendum.