Zelensky on “non-aggression” pact with Belarus: Ukraine’s proposition publicly known
January 24, BPN. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has commented on Alaksandr Łukašenka’s remarks about the “non-aggression pact” supposedly offered to Minsk by Kyiv.
“Everything that Ukraine officially offers, you hear. We are not going to attack Belarus, and have never intended to,” Zelensky said, as quoted by UNIAN. “That is the main signal from all the Ukrainian people to the Belarusian people.” It is very important for Ukraine that Belarus does not lose its independence and enter into this “absolutely shameful war,” he added.
“I see that the majority of the population of Belarus, just like, I’m sure, most of the military servicemen of independent Belarus, who are the military servicemen of Belarus, do not want to attack us and use force and weapons against Ukrainian society,” Zelensky said. According to him, Ukraine would be surprised to see a specifically Belarusian offensive from the north.
“As for the Russian soldiers who can show up in any territory of any state today, because they think they have a kind of ‘military Schengen,’ I think it all depends on respect of any state’s population for its state and also on respect of the state’s leadership, which is free to let armed people in or ban them from its independent territory,” Zelensky noted.
Russia, he said, can launch a new offensive from Belarusian territory, but the Ukrainian military must be ready for any challenge. “It’s not easy. We need help from [Western] partners, because we have a very large territory. . . . But I believe they will not succeed from this direction,” the Ukrainian president said.
On January 24, Łukašenka told officials in Minsk that Ukrainian authorities had offered Belarus to conclude a non-aggression pact, although they continue to train “militants and extremists.”
“I don’t know why the Ukrainians need it,” he said. “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.”
The Ukrainian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to BPN’s request for comments.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told reporters that the Kremlin was not aware of any such offer to Belarus.
This comes amid ongoing Russia’s war on Ukraine. Authorities in Minsk denied Belarusian troops’ involvement in combat operations on the Russian side. However, Belarus allowed Russian troops to attack Ukraine from its territory on multiple occasions.
- Politics
- PoliticsNGOs attempted a coup in 2020 – Belarusian ambassador claimsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyGeorgia did not satisfy a single asylum request from Belarusians in 2019–2024The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityBelarus reports death of a foreigner at Latvian borderThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- EconomyBelarus officials, entrepreneurs discussing ways to improve business conditionsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyGovernment brands 30 people as extremistsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsUkraine's outgoing envoy: democratic change possible in Belarus after Russia's defeatThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityBiełaruski Hajun shuts down after security breachThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- PoliticsCichanoŭskaja asks Albania to use UN to help Belarusian political prisonersThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyBelarusians net sellers of foreign currency in JanuaryThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyBelarus’ foreign exchange reserves up 4.6 percent in JanuaryThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsOpposition, Pact of Free Cities agree on self-government training for BelarusiansThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyOfficials boast expanding cell service coverage in 2024The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Elections, Politics
- EconomyGovernment cuts export duties on selected oil products by 60 percentThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsReprisals: data breach of opposition chat fuels evacuation requestsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Society
- EconomyRussia’s Lada outsells China's Geely in BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsHuman rights activists designate 16 as former political prisonersThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsLocal officials to approve appointments of CEOs to private companiesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- PoliticsOpposition politician Łatuška meets with Dutch ambassador in WarsawThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsCIS states debate AI regulationsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- Economy
- EconomyŁukašenka wants district authorities to have more control over private businessesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyUK, Lithuania pull out of double tax treaties with BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics