Łukašenka says Ukraine offers Belarus non-aggression pact

January 24, BPN. Ukrainian authorities offered Belarus to conclude a non-aggression pact, Alaksandr Łukašenka has told officials at a meeting on sociopolitical issues.

But he also accused Ukraine of training “militants and extremists” in an apparent reference to Belarusian volunteers fighting under the Ukrainian command.

“I don’t know why the Ukrainians need it,” the interior ministry’s press office quoted him. “On the one hand, they ask us not to go to war with Ukraine and not to move our troops there. They also suggest signing a non-aggression pact. On the other hand, they are preparing this rattlesnake mixture and are arming them [militants]. Poland and Lithuania have gone completely crazy. Why do they need it? It is not clear. That is why we are forced to react harshly.”

“We have enough issues on the perimeter, both in the airspace and on the ground,” Łukašenka said, noting that the internal situation required more attention in these conditions. Authorities would treat opposition activists as extremists and react harshly as well, he warned.

In February 2022, Russia started a full-scale war against Ukraine. Łukašenka admitted that Belarus participated in Russia’s war on Ukraine, but said it was “not killing anyone.”

Authorities in Minsk denied 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.