Annihilation awaits Ukraine if it fails to negotiate – Łukašenka

November 24, BPN. An end to the “conflict in Ukraine” requires negotiations, otherwise it “threatens the country’s annihilation,” Alaksandr Łukašenka told reporters following the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit in Yerevan on November 23.

“Everything is in the hands of Ukraine. Not because I want to blame this topic on [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky or Ukraine,” Łukašenka said, as reported by the Pul Pervogo Telegram channel run by his press office..

He said that if Kyiv must stop the conflict if it wants to avoid a huge number of deaths.

“It is hard, complicated and difficult, but a recovery is possible, if they want it. They should stop, they should put an end to it. Because next thing is the annihilation of Ukraine,” Łukašenka said. “It is not like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin said once, long before the operation, that it will threaten Ukraine’s statehood. It will annihilate Ukraine.”

Ukraine says it will be willing to discuss a peace deal if Russian troops go home.

On February 24, 2022 Russia launched a full-scale war against the Ukrainian people. The authorities in Minsk deny that the Belarusian military participates in Russia’s hostilities. At the same time, the territory of Belarus was actively used by the Russians to attack Ukraine at the outset of the invasion and in some later periods.