Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 15 November (BelTA) – Belarus is ready to send a peacekeeping contingent to Ukraine to help restore peace in the country, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei told the media following a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on 15 November, BelTA has learned.

Back in 2014, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with Euronews that Belarus is ready to send a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine to help restore peace and stability in the country, Vladimir Makei recalled.

“We are ready to deploy peacekeepers to carry out peacekeeping tasks, if it is acceptable for all the countries concerned,” the minister remarked.

The diplomat highlighted that Belarus’ position on the situation in eastern Ukrainian regions is well known: the country is deeply interested in the early establishment of stability in Ukraine. “We are certainly ready to do anything to help settle the current conflict situation and bring peace back to these regions,” he added.

Vladimir Makei recalled that Minsk has become a venue for regular negotiations of the trilateral contact group on Ukraine. “No matter how some people may evaluate the work of the group, I believe that it makes a productive and important contribution to the settlement of crisis situations. We intend to continue to host these meetings and make every effort to ensure peace and stability in this region,” he stated.

In turn, Sergei Lavrov noted that Belarus’ position on the peaceful settlement in Ukraine reflects the position of Russia, which is formalized in a draft resolution of the UN Security Council. In his words, this document, however, has been put aside for a couple of months, its discussion has been derailed. “We keep working on this matter. Our draft resolution outlines the absolutely necessary criteria of the peacekeeping operation set forth in the UN Charter,” the minister said.