Łukašenka tells Ukraine to enter into talks with Russia without preconditions

May 18, BPN. Ukraine should enter into peace talks with Russia without any preconditions, Alaksandr Łukašenka has told officials from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Parliamentary Assembly at a meeting in Minsk.

Ukraine and Russia should sit down at the negotiating table and work out the terms there, he noted.

Earlier, Ukraine repeatedly announced plans for a counteroffensive to liberate all Russian-held Ukrainian territories within the 1991 borders including Crimea, parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions annexed in 2014 as well as areas of eastern Ukraine occupied in 2022.

The Belarusian ruler dismissed the idea as insane. “Fighting [outnumbered] one to five in materiel and personnel at the front is just insane,” he said.

In February 2022, Russia started a full-scale war against Ukraine. Łukašenka admitted that Belarus participated in it, 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.