The Belarusian leader accused the West of inflating facts to pressure EU and NATO and called for unconditional negotiations.
Following reports of North Korean troops deployed in Russia, Belarus’ leader said no one had seen any Pyongyang soldiers on the frontline with Ukraine, accusing the West of “inflating the fact”, which may lead to what he called ‘escalation’’.
“They are inflating it for what? To finally put pressure on the European Union and introduce NATO troops into (Russia’s invasion of Ukraine),” President Alexander Lukashenko said at the Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security.
All sides of the conflict should “sit down at the negotiation table without any preconditions,” he added.
Previously he has also repeatedly denied Belarus’ role in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, although Russian troops used Belarus territory as a launchpad for their failed assault on Kyiv when they crossed Ukraine’s border from Belarus in February 2022.
Belarus has been a staunch supporter of Russia since Lukashenko, dubbed “Europe’s last dictator,” came into power three decades ago. His regime has been placed under a string of Western sanctions due to Lukashenko’s response to the 2020 elections in the country, which have been fraudulent, and the subsequent large-scale violent crackdown on opposition.
The de-facto leader of Belarus, Lukashenko is not recognized by the EU and the US as the legitimate president of Belarus.
Reliant on Russian loans and cheap energy, Lukashenko’s political and military alliance with the Kremlin has allowed Russian President Vladimir Putin to station troops and missiles in the neighbouring country, including tactical nuclear weapons.
Moscow touts tighter ties to Tehran
Also speaking at the conference in Minsk was Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who announced that Moscow plans to sign a treaty “on comprehensive strategic partnership” with Iran in the near future.
“It will confirm the parties’ desire for closer cooperation in the field of defence and for interaction in the interests of peace and security at the regional and global levels,” Lavrov said.
Iran is one of Russia’s closest allies. The two countries have deepened their military and political cooperation since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Tehran has provided Moscow with thousands of Shahed kamikaze drones used in attacks against Ukraine Almost daily.
Two months ago, Russia received shipments of Iranian Fath-360 close-range ballistic missiles. Ukraine, the EU and the US introduced more sanctions against Iran in the wake of the confirmation of the missile delivery to Russia.
Zelenskyy’s peace formula ‘stupid,’ Lavrov thinks
Lavrov also called the peace formula of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dead-end” and “stupid” and described his recently unveiled victory plan as “schizophrenic”.
“Stability in this part of the Eurasian continent will be achieved only if long-term reliable guarantees in the security sphere are provided,” Lavrov said.
Moscow has not provided any evidence to back its claims of NATO or the West’s intentions to act aggressively towards Russia or its troops, one of the Kremlin’s main alleged reasons for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is hoping to get some of Russia’s allies on board with its peace formula so that they can pass on the information and agreements to Moscow.
Ukraine’s presidential office chief Andriy Yermak said on Sunday that Kyiv will finalise its formula by early November and will be open to incorporating other initiatives from China, Brazil, and South Africa — which, together with Russia, form the BRICS group — into Ukraine’s peace plan.
As for the dialogue with Russia, Zelenskyy said that Russia should be “forced” into peace when he addressed the UN Security Council in September.
