Belarus’ foreign minister blames West for war in Ukraine

September 25, BPN. “The collective West should fully bear the responsibility for the ongoing bloodshed in Ukraine,” Belarusian Foreign Minister Uładzimir Makiej told the 77th session of the UN General Assembly on September 24 in New York.

The West made the conflict inevitable, says the transcript of his speech posted on the foreign ministry’s website. Makiej also mentioned Alaksandr Łukašenka’s 2017 proposals for a global security dialogue. “The opponents let this initiative go unnoticed as well,” he said.

In his speech, Makej accused the West of neocolonialism and intentions to create a unipolar world.

Earlier, Makiej claimed on at least two occasions at the UN General Assembly that Belarus was not an accomplice to the war.

On February 24, Russia started a full-scale war against Ukraine. Authorities in Minsk deny Belarusian army troops’ involvement in combat operations on the Russian side. However, Belarus allowed Russian troops and weapons to move freely through the country, use its airspace, refuel and store military equipment and attack Ukraine from its territory.

A 20,000-strong grouping of Russian forces crossed into Ukraine from Belarus at the outset of the war, Łukašenka told AFP in an interview on July 21. Russian troops retreated from northern Ukraine later.

On September 21, Moscow announced a plan to call up 300,000 reservists in a bid to reverse setbacks in the war in Ukraine. Łukašenka stressed the previous day that Belarus would stick with Russia and ordered officials to check the readiness of Belarusian troops.