Opinions & Interviews
Lukashenko: It is still possible to reach a deal on Ukraine
An archive photo
MINSK, 6 July (BelTA) – It is still possible to reach a deal on Ukraine, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a meeting with foreign and Belarusian journalists in Minsk on 6 July, BelTA has learned.
The head of state believes that Ukraine will seek to show the best effort ahead of the NATO summit in Vilnius. “The problem for them is that if they throw their best units into battle in the run-up to 11 July in order to show their patrons what they are capable of, the Ukrainian military capability will be completely destroyed. Their forces will be ground down. They are launching attacks in order to cut off the land passage to the Crimea and destroy the southern grouping. As soon as they wear down their troops, Russia will launch a counterattack, and the Ukrainians will have nothing to defend themselves with. They will cut off Ukraine completely from the Black Sea, and from the best, most advantageous and valuable territories. One should think about this,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
“Russia will hold out, and its counterattack in the south of Ukraine up to Transnistria will pose great risks for them. This will determine the future of Ukraine’s statehood. That is what they should think about instead of the carrot they are handing out to Zelensky in the form of the NATO-Ukraine Commission or other things they have promised. Vladimir Zelensky will never agree to this. He will insist that Ukraine join NATO, in other words that NATO enter the war against the Russian Federation. That is where the danger comes from. And if NATO makes such a decision, the war will be completely different. I am afraid it might end very quickly,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The president gave his take on the possibility that in such a situation the West may decide to replace Zelensky with someone else. Aleksandr Lukashenko believes that this is unlikely: “It is quite possible, but I don’t think it will happen. Replacing Zelensky is the first step towards admitting defeat. There are no grounds to make such assumptions. I have no evidence to prove this. And why would they replace Zelensky if he is doing everything they want?”
“Today we need to come to our senses. There is still a whole set of talking points on the table that can be agreed upon. Tomorrow it will be impossible. Today, we can talk to Ukraine and reach some kind of peace agreement. The situation will change after the counteroffensive, and it remains to be seen whether they will still want to talk to you [the leadership of Ukraine]. It is a pity that politicians in Ukraine do not see and understand this,” the president said.
The head of state noted that Vladimir Zelensky and Ukraine’s military leadership have been at loggerheads for quite some time already. “In fact, the military see what is happening at the front. While he, being pushed by these fidgets Duda and Austin with Blinken [President of Poland Andrzej Duda, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken], believes that he is a hero, a household name around the world and he will win. This will never happen,” the president said.
“We must stop now. A lot of bad things have been done. Many people have died. But it could be even worse. Therefore, it is crucial to stop now, to sit down at the negotiating table. Without preconditions. We all must sit down at the negotiating table and take decisions on territories, security, the future of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. It should be up to Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, and least of all up to the USA, to decide on that. The USA is far away. They understand what is going on here, but it’s not their war. Therefore, this problem should be addressed here,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.
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