Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a Moscow ally visiting China, said today that he fully supports the Chinese proposals to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, which were made public last week.

“Belarus actively comes up with peace proposals and fully supports your initiative in the field of international security,” Lukashenka said, according to the press service of the Belarusian leader, during talks in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“Today’s meeting took place in a very difficult period, which requires new non-standard approaches and responsible political decisions. First of all, they should be aimed at avoiding a global confrontation in which there will be no winners,” Lukashenka added.

On the eve of the long-awaited meeting with Xi, Lukashenka welcomed the relations between his country and China.

The three-day official visit to China by the Belarusian president, a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, comes after Beijing released a 12-point document last week that basically urges Moscow and Kiev to hold peace talks.

Beijing, criticized by the West for not publicly condemning Moscow from the start of its invasion of Ukraine, has sought to play a mediating role in the conflict and strongly rejects US and NATO accusations that it is considering arms sales to Russia.

At a meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang earlier today, Lukashenko said that for Beijing and Minsk, “all issues of cooperation are excluded.”

“We are doing everything in the interests of our peoples – Belarusian and Chinese. It will continue like this,” he said.

For his part, Li Keqiang said that China will steadily develop trade in various goods, including agricultural, with Belarus, state news agencies report.

Li also noted during a meeting with Lukashenka that China will support the construction of the China-Belarus Industrial Park and cooperation between the enterprises of the two countries, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.

According to a video accompanying the Belarusian president’s briefing, Li Keqiang told Alexander Lukashenko that Xi Jinping would meet with him this afternoon to “continue planning the development of bilateral relations.”

Before his arrival in China, Lukashenko, in a conversation with Xinhua, called the Chinese president an “old friend.”

The Belarusian leader also welcomed China’s document on the war in Ukraine, which he said is “evidence of its peaceful foreign policy, as well as a new unique step that will have a great impact around the world.”

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Xi Jinping has spoken to Vladimir Putin several times, but has not yet spoken to his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Belarus borders both Ukraine and Russia. However, this country is highly dependent on Moscow economically and politically. Minsk approved the passage of Russian troops through its territory to launch an offensive into Ukraine in February last year.

Source: AFP, Reuters, APE-MPE.