Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest allies, called for peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, which he characterized as a "scuffle."
Belarus has remained neutral throughout the war, but it hosts thousands of Russian troops and served as the staging ground for the initial thrust into Kyiv in the opening days of the invasion. In a recorded interview set to air on the Russian state news channel Russia 1 on Sunday, Lukashenko cast a different message than Putin by suggesting that Russia and Ukraine should come to the negotiating table.
“Let's sit down at the negotiating table and end this scuffle," he said, referring to the war.
"Neither the Ukrainian people, nor the Russians, nor the Belarusians need it,” he continued, according to Politico. “It’s them in the West who need [the war]. I cannot reveal these facts. They are absolutely classified. But sometimes they speak openly — high-ranking people. Saying, let them beat each other, Ukrainians, Russians, let everyone die in this cauldron."
His comments struck the opposite tone of Putin, who in recent days raged against Ukraine and suggested negotiations were off the table after its incursion into Russia's Kursk province and alleged attack against the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
"What kind of negotiations can we talk about with people who indiscriminately attack the civilian population, civilian infrastructure, or try to create threats to nuclear power facilities? What can we even talk about with them?" Putin said Monday.
In the interview, Lukashenko also dismissed concerns of Belarus possibly going to war with Ukraine and said Ukraine doesn't want to.
“Ukrainians saw that. They constantly told us they didn’t need war with Belarus. We understand this and say we will not fight with you [Ukrainians],” Lukashenko said, referring to his deployment of more Belarusian troops to the border.
“The entire border is 1,200 kilometers. Now, the northeastern district of the front is 1,000. Are we ready for more? No. And Kursk showed this,” he added.
The Belarusian president also bashed Lithuania for banning vehicles with Belarusian license plates from entering the country and called the country's government "genuine crazies." He claimed the country was a jewel during Soviet times but has since deteriorated and nothing is made there anymore. Lukashenko touted his suit, which he said was made by a local Belarusian tailor rather than a foreign maker.
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Lukashenko has ruled Belarus after landslide victories in the first free Belarusian election since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1994, with over 80% of the vote. He has since won every subsequent reelection campaign in landslide victories, which have all been widely dismissed by international watchdogs as fraudulent. He has, at times, openly embraced the label of "dictator," usually jokingly.
After attempting to play both sides between Russia and the West, Lukashenko has been increasingly reliant on Russia since 2020, when massive protests over election fraud threatened his hold on power. In June 2023, he served as a mediator between Putin and Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin during his daring mutiny and march on Moscow.
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