Answering journalists’ questions at the Eurasian Economic Union summit in Astana, Aliaksandr Lukashenka commented on the visit of representatives of the Belarusian democratic forces to Kyiv and statements by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about a possible threat from Belarus.
According to Lukashenka, Zelenskyy is making such statements under pressure from Europeans who expect him to demonstrate activity.
“Now I am thinking about why he is saying this. I have already mentioned one reason. We are talking with the Americans. Trump’s position is clear. Whatever he may be, he is taking the correct position. The Americans are talking, some remain meaningfully silent, others speak, the Europeans are mumbling about something. And they tell him: why are you silent? Supposedly, tomorrow there will be an attack on Ukraine from Belarus, although that will never happen — our soldiers have never been there and never will be. He knows that, and the military knows it as well. In other words, the Europeans pushed him into making such statements. They are supposedly fighting for Ukraine, while Ukraine itself remains silent. So he blurts something out,” he said.
Lukashenka also commented on the visit to Kyiv by a Belarusian delegation led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, which took place on May 25–26.
“And then there are these actions by our so-called quiet little fools, whom he invited and so on. I am glad he invited them. And thanks to the Russians who noticed it, the television people. I heard a programme about it on RTR. It is good that they looked at our so-called opposition. It is not an opposition at all; they are bandits. And they are counting on training militants there from among Belarusians, Ukrainians, Poles or perhaps Lithuanians, and then they will move in and seize some district centre,” he said.
Lukashenka warned of “a different kind of war” if Belarusian territory were attacked and said he felt sorry for Zelenskyy.
“Listen, God forbid that a military attack on Belarusian territory is launched from any territory. The war in Ukraine would take on a completely different character. I will not go into specifics. You understand what I mean. I am trying to understand the president of Ukraine. There is a war going on, enormous pressure. It is not easy to endure. And perhaps something happened there — maybe he smoked something, injected something, something else happened — and then he starts making such statements. I simply feel sorry for him. That is why, as you have noticed, I remain silent. God forbid anyone finds themselves in such a situation,” he said.
