Belarusian President Oleksandr Lukashenko said Sunday that Ukraine is making a “mistake” by offering preconditions for talks with Russia, arguing that such preconditions prevent negotiations from starting, CNN reports.

“The mistake of Ukrainians (President) Volodymyr Zelensky is that he violates the classical principles of the negotiation process. Especially if we talk with giant Russia. Well, you can’t condition in advance,” Lukashenko said in an interview with Russian state television.

“Sit down at the negotiating table and set all the conditions. And the second principle is a classical one – compromises,” Lukashenko said.

Moscow uses Minsk as a base for an unprovoked war against Ukraine. At the beginning of the conflict, Vladimir Putin’s troops used the Belarusian border to invade.

According to information gathered by NATO surveillance aircraft, Belarus has been used as a launch pad for many Russian air operations in Ukraine.

Now Russia is once again preparing to transfer Russian troops and equipment from Belarus to replenish units that have suffered losses.