{"id":11532,"date":"2023-02-17T13:09:44","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T10:09:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/lukasenka-wants-to-be-a-peacemaker-brandishing-nuclear-missiles\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"lukasenka-wants-to-be-a-peacemaker-brandishing-nuclear-missiles","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11532\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0141uka\u0161enka wants to be a peacemaker, brandishing nuclear missiles"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka made conflicting statements at a news conference for foreign journalists on February 16. He invited the US president to Minsk for Ukraine peace talks but said he might offer Belarus\u2019 territory to Russia for a new march into Ukraine.<\/span><\/b>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t As usually, he cast Kyiv as an aggressor and defended Russia\u2019s assault.\n<\/p>\n

Belarusian leader eyeing role in peace talks<\/h2>\n

\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka reiterated his desire to sit at the negotiating table as he accused the West of reluctance to hold Ukraine peace talks. \u201c. . . You are holding Volodya [Volodymyr] Zelensky back by his hands and feet to keep him away from the negotiating table . . . Order Zelensky and sit yourself at the negotiating table with [Vladimir] Putin, and I will take a seat by his side.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka nostalgically recalled his meetings in Minsk a few years ago with Mike Pompeo, US secretary of state at the time, and John Bolton, US national security advisor, describing both as \u201cvery decent people.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\t He also reprised his role in the 2014-15 negotiations on Minsk agreements, portraying the former French, German and Ukrainian leaders \u2013 Francois Holland, Angela Merkel and Petro Poroshenko \u2013 as liars.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The Belarusian ruler is clearly nostalgic for the time before Western leaders stopped dealing with him after his disputed re-election in 2020. He would like to receive \u201cdecent\u201d high-ranking Western officials at his palace.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t However, Western countries would not engage in serious discussions with him as long as Russian troops are stationed on Belarusian soil. Moreover, \u0141uka\u0161enka said he was ready to offer Russia his country\u2019s territory for a new assault.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Another obstacle for Minsk\u2019s negotiations with the West is his reluctance to end the crackdown on dissent, release political prisoners and hold free elections. \u201cThere is one condition as far as I am concerned: don\u2019t encroach on our garden,\u201d he stressed, meaning that the West should accept his regime as it is.\n<\/p>\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka says he needs troops to keep Poland, Lithuania at bay<\/h2>\n

\n\t Moscow seems to be quite happy with Belarus\u2019 current role as a staging ground for Russian attacks, a training ground for Russian troops and a manufacturer of goods that Russia uses as to mitigate the effect of import restrictions.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u201cRussia has never asked me to go to war against Ukraine together,\u201d he said. \u201cRussia perfectly understands that I have a sea of problems near Brest, Hrodna and northwards with Lithuania.\u201d He added that Belarus is responsible for defending the western approach route.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t This must be the reasoning he uses with Putin to explain his reluctance to send Belarusian troops to Ukraine.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t He stressed that the Belarusian army would only step into the fray if “at least one soldier crosses into the Belarusian territory to kill my people.”\n<\/p>\n

\n\t His promises should not be taken seriously. If Putin insists, he well command his solders to walk in, and afterward blame Ukraine for alleged aggression.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Anyway, satellite images would show the build-up of Russian forces in Belarus for an attack. For the time being, Russian presence here is not sufficient to launch a major offensive.\n<\/p>\n

Claims he does not need long-range nuclear munitions<\/h2>\n

\n\t Belarus \u201cabsolutely does not need\u201d strategic nuclear weapons because it is not going to \u201cstrike America or even European countries,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t But he added, in apparent reference to the Su-25, that he had aircraft modified to carry tactical nuclear munitions.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t In addition, Russia has transferred to Belarus nuclear-capable Iskander missile systems.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Moscow does not store any nuclear bombs or warheads in Belarus, which does not have special storage facilities. In addition, the Kremlin does not trust \u0141uka\u0161enka to give him access to nuclear weapons.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t However, Russia can deliver nuclear warheads to Belarus promptly, if necessary.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Moscow and Minsk are flexing their nuclear muscles to intimidate Europe and Kyiv so that they feel a pervasive sense of uncertainty. In the worst-case scenario, Putin can give orders to launch nuclear-tipped missiles from Belarus, exposing its missile sites to counterstrikes.  \n<\/p>\n

\n\t  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka made conflicting statements at a news conference for foreign journalists on February 16. He invited the US president to Minsk for Ukraine peace talks but said he might offer Belarus\u2019 territory to Russia for a new march into Ukraine. As usually, he cast Kyiv as an aggressor and defended Russia\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[24],"class_list":["post-11532","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u0141uka\u0161enka wants to be a peacemaker, brandishing nuclear missiles | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka made conflicting statements at a news conference for foreign journalists on February 16. 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