Belarusian President Lukashenko Urges Russia And Ukraine To End The War

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. (Wikimedia Commons/men'smen

JAKARTA - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko who is also an ally of President Vladimir Putin wants Russia and Ukraine to negotiate to end the conflict, so that war does not spread to his country.

He spoke with the background of the Ukrainian attack on Russia which began on August 6 as thousands of Kyiv troops broke through Russia's western border which was very embarrassing for Putin's military officials.

In an interview President Lukashenko said only "high-ranking Americans" wanted the Ukraine-Russia war to continue.

The West, he continued, pushed Kyiv to war because it wanted Ukraine and Russia to "destroy", according to a quote from an interview nearly two hours published on Thursday on the Belarusian presidential website.

"Let's sit at the negotiating table and end this dispute," he said.

"Both the people of Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus do not need it. They (Western) need it," continued President Lukashenko.

Russia itself said on Thursday it would increase border defenses as hundreds of thousands of people were ordered to flee the western Kursk region.

On the other hand, Kyiv said its troops had advanced 35 km (22 miles) to Russia since last week and continued to control the territory.

President Lukashenko hinted, without providing evidence, Kyiv may be planning to attack Belarus, saying Minsk would not allow Ukrainian troops to "step on our country".

The Ukrainian military did not immediately respond to a request for written comment.

Belarusian leaders have positioned themselves as Putin's main supporter since the Russian president ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, some of which were carried out from Belarus.

Moscow itself said that any peace negotiations must be based on Ukraine, which handed over a fifth of the land from its territory - largely captured by Russian troops.

Ukraine says Kyiv will be ready for negotiations, provided Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity are fully respected.

Lukashenko alleges that the West is betting that the unstable situation in Kursk will drive troop mobilization in Belarus and Russia and "shock the public from within."

"We don't want an escalation and we don't want a fight against the entire NATO. We don't want that," he said.

But if Ukraine really provokes Belarus, Lukashenko warns, "we have no other choice."

Lukashenko called the conflict a "joint war" of Belarus and Russia against "barrel creatures" - Kyiv and its Western allies - saying Moscow would "support us" if Belarus was attacked.

In addition, President Lukashenko repeated claims about airspace violations and said Belarusian troops were sent to the border to "prevent breakthroughs."

He stressed that Minsk saw no reason to use Russian nuclear weapons, which were deployed in Belarus last year, unless its borders were violated.

"We will not use any weapons until you set foot on our country's borders."