«No military solution»: Lukashenko says how to end the war in Ukraine
Alexander Lukashenko has said that the war in Ukraine should be ended through negotiations in a «Lukashenko–Putin–Zelenskyy» format. According to him, the parties should agree both on ending the war and on addressing its consequences.
Alexander Lukashenko / © Getty Images
The self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, declared that the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have no military solution and must end at the negotiating table.
He said this in an interview with Belarusian media.
According to him, there are currently many problems that cannot be solved by force.
«There are really a lot of problems, and they can only be solved at the negotiating table. There is no military solution for either of the two conflicts—neither in Ukraine nor in the Middle East,» Lukashenko said.
He called on all parties to «stop» and «soberly assess the situation» to prevent new civilian casualties.
Separately, Lukashenko said that he does not want the role of a mediator in the peace settlement of the war in Ukraine. According to him, Belarus does not possess the resources of China or other major powers, but at the same time cannot remain on the sidelines because the war is taking place nearby.
«I don’t like this mediation at all. From a philosophical point of view, if you get caught between the grindstones, you can just get ground up and spat out. We know our place,» Lukashenko said.
He added that Belarus is a «very interested party» because the war is happening «practically in our backyard.»
«We don’t want this war because we can suffer from it just as Ukrainians and Russians are suffering,» he said.
Lukashenko also said that peace agreements must be made between the parties to the conflict. After that, according to him, Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus must together «clear up the consequences.»
He expressed the opinion that the US and Europe will not invest in rebuilding because for them it is «someone else’s land.»
«Therefore, we need to survive this conflict, sit down at the negotiating table together as three—Lukashenko, Putin, and Zelenskyy—stop and agree on how we will overcome the consequences of this conflict. We must solve this issue,» Lukashenko declared.
Lukashenko also said that he hopes Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready for such a negotiation format.
«I think Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not a stupid man, he will finally understand. He and others will step over grudges, ambitions, over the deaths of thousands and thousands of people, and we will start to agree,» he said.