01:07Belarus: They offer us 'non-aggression pact' while West is arming Kiev - Lukashenko on alleged deal
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko alleged that his country had been offered a 'non-aggression pact' with Ukraine, during a meeting on the socio-political and domestic crime situation in Minsk on Tuesday.
"On the one hand they ask us not to go to war with Ukraine, not to move our troops there. They make an offer to us to sign a non-aggression pact. And on the other side they [Western countries] are preparing the rattlesnake mixture and arming them. Poland, Lithuania are crazy, why do they need it? It is not clear why they need it," claimed Lukashenko.
Kiev and its Western allies have not commented, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did react to the idea during a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.
"We were not going and are not going to attack Belarus." he stated. "And this is the main signal from the entire Ukrainian people to the Belarusian people. It is very important for us that Belarus does not lose its independence and does not enter this absolutely shameful war, regardless of anyone's influence."
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
01:07President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko alleged that his country had been offered a 'non-aggression pact' with Ukraine, during a meeting on the socio-political and domestic crime situation in Minsk on Tuesday.
"On the one hand they ask us not to go to war with Ukraine, not to move our troops there. They make an offer to us to sign a non-aggression pact. And on the other side they [Western countries] are preparing the rattlesnake mixture and arming them. Poland, Lithuania are crazy, why do they need it? It is not clear why they need it," claimed Lukashenko.
Kiev and its Western allies have not commented, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did react to the idea during a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.
"We were not going and are not going to attack Belarus." he stated. "And this is the main signal from the entire Ukrainian people to the Belarusian people. It is very important for us that Belarus does not lose its independence and does not enter this absolutely shameful war, regardless of anyone's influence."
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.