President Putin's Ally Believes Russia Will Not Lose The War, Says President Zelensky Can Sign Handover

Illustration of President Vladimir Putin with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. (Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin.ru)

JAKARTA - Russia is offering Ukraine a perfectly acceptable option for a treaty, Belarusian President and Vladimir Putin ally Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with Japan's TBS TV channel, partly quoted by the BelTA news agency.

"Russia offered Ukraine a completely acceptable version of the agreement, I know this for sure. And now it is still possible to see Ukraine and Russia agree, seeing President Zelensky and President Putin signing this agreement," he said, quoted by TASS from BeITA, March 18.

"If Zelensky refuses to do this, believe me, he will have to sign an act of surrender in no time," continued President Lukashenko.

On this occasion, President Lukashenko emphasized his belief that Russia would not lose in this war.

"And you are also 100 percent sure that won't happen. Japan knows better than me how the war ends if one side wins," he stressed.

He further explained that he hoped the special operations in Ukraine would end soon and peace would be achieved.

"I am sure that this conflict, the Russian operation, will end in peace soon," he said.

Interestingly, he stressed that the West would not be able to pull Belarus into a conflict on Ukrainian soil.

"I practically believe we don't need to go to war with Ukraine. The West will not be able to drag us into this conflict," he said.

It was reported earlier that the fourth straight day of peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators was taking place via video link, but the Kremlin said an agreement had yet to be reached.

"Our delegation made a colossal effort. Our delegation is ready to work around the clock, but unfortunately, we do not see such enthusiasm from the Ukrainian side," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Moscow earlier said it was close to agreeing to a formula that would keep Ukraine neutral, one of its demands.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said the negotiations were complicated.

"The position of each party is different. For us, fundamental issues cannot be contested," he stressed.

Ukraine has said it is willing to negotiate an end to the war, but will not give up or accept Russia's ultimatum. They stick to their core position, maintaining sovereignty over the territory occupied since 2014 by Russian and pro-Russian forces.