Belarus’ leader, one of Vladimir Putin’s closest allies, has criticised Russia’s war in Ukraine for dragging on and said that it was time to resume peace negotiations.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Aleksandr Lukashenko adopted the Kremlin’s characterisation of the war in Ukraine as a “special operation” but hinted that he thought Russia’s attritional bombardment tactics may be prolonging the fighting.
“I am not immersed in this problem enough to say whether it goes according to plan, like the Russians say, or like I feel it,” he said. “I want to stress one more time, I feel like this operation has dragged on.”
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Putin had expected a swift victory in Ukraine but his forces were instead met by tough resistance. He has shifted his focus from capturing Kyiv and toppling the Ukrainian government in days to securing the Donbas region.
Lukashenko also bragged that only he could broker a peace deal and blamed Ukraine for slowing down the negotiations.
“We categorically do not accept any war. We have done and are doing everything now so that there isn’t a war. Thanks to yours truly, me that is, negotiations between Ukraine and Russia have begun,” he said.
“But why is Ukraine, on whose territory a war in effect is ongoing, military action, people are dying, – why is Ukraine not interested in these negotiations?”
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Peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have faltered over the past month. At a meeting in Istanbul at the end of March, presided over by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, officials had said that a deal was potentially on the table.
Since then, though, both sides have accused the other of scuppering negotiations.
‘We do not threaten anyone’
Lukashenko has been one of Putin’s biggest supporters for his war in Ukraine, allowing the main invading armies to launch many of their attacks from Belarus. He has also said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine had diverted Ukrainian plans to invade Belarus.
Since the beginning of the war on Feb. 24, analysts and intelligence experts have said that the Belarusian army was preparing to drive into Ukraine to support its Russian allies. This has not happened and Lukashenko also used his interview with the AP to deny that a snap military exercise this week was a threat to anybody. 
“We do not threaten anyone and we are not going to threaten and will not do it,” he said. “Moreover, we can’t threaten – we know who opposes us, so to unleash some kind of a conflict, some kind of war here in the West is absolutely not in the interests of the Belarusian state. So the West can sleep peacefully.”
Lukashenko also said it would be “unacceptable” to use nuclear weapons, as pro-Kremlin media repeatedly warn of a potential nuclear strike.
Photo Credit: Getty
