Belarusian President Oleksandr Lukashenko, a key ally of the Kremlin, told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a meeting in Minsk on Thursday that his country was providing all the support it had promised Moscow. “We will work together, side by side,” Lukashenko told Lavrov, but praised Ukraine for “not provoking Belarus, despite the fact that its Western neighbors push it to do so.”

Lukashenko and PutinPhoto: Serhiy Guneev / AFP / Profimedia Images
  • “Everything we promised, everything Russia needs in this difficult period not only for Russia, but also for us, for Russia and Belarus, we are doing,” Lukashenko told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a meeting in Minsk. This was reported by the local official agency BelTA.

“Let’s make an agreement. We are ready to participate”

“You know the intentions of our western neighbors. (…) They are also trying to use Ukraine against Belarus,” Lukashenko said to the head of Russian diplomacy, Agerpes said, referring to BelTA.

At the same time, Lukashenko said that he was “satisfied and pleasantly surprised” that Ukraine does not follow these approaches.

Ukraine “does not challenge Belarus, despite the fact that our Western neighbors are actively pushing it to do so. And you know it,” added the head of the Belarusian state.

Lukashenko also told Lavrov that Belarus had stated in its contacts with the West that “Russia has never been against peace.” “Let’s make an agreement. We are ready to participate. You should not doubt it. If there is anything we can do, and you know we can, tell us honestly. We will work together, side by side,” Lukashenko told the interlocutor.

The authorities in Kyiv accused Belarus of complicity in Russia’s aggression, given that at the beginning of the invasion, on February 24, 2022, Russian troops entered Ukraine, including from Belarusian territory.

Currently, the Ukrainian military command excludes a new Russian offensive from the territory of Belarus, despite the fact that Moscow maintains a contingent of about 10,000 troops and heavy weapons there, including tanks, large-caliber artillery, missiles and aircraft.