Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and the start of talks on a lasting peace agreement. "The Russian Army is now operating at its maximum capacity. We have to stop this now, before there is an escalation of hostilities again," he warned. He believes that the outbreak of a third nuclear world war "is getting closer and closer and can only be avoided by negotiations."
In an address to the nation, Lukashenko has said that there should be no preconditions for a ceasefire. What the Belarusian leader, an obedient ally of Vladimir Putin, has put on the table is a warning to Ukraine against launching an early counteroffensive. Lukashenko has proposed declaring a ceasefire in Ukraine, although "without the possibility of regrouping troops" and has described as "extremely dangerous" the idea of a counter-offensive by Ukrainian forces in the context of the Russian invasion.
Belarus already misled Ukraine early last year - while Russia was amassing troops - by first saying kyiv had nothing to fear and then serving as a platform for Russia's failed incursion into the Ukrainian capital.
Putin could not decapitate the Ukrainian government and the war has dragged on. Ukraine resists but kyiv once again looks fearfully to the north. There is more and more Russian weaponry on the Belarusian side. And with increased capabilities: President Putin announced last week that Russia will deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
The Russian president ruled out that the decision violates nuclear non-proliferation agreements and compared the measure to the installation of US nuclear weapons in Europe. Putin added that Moscow will not transfer control of its weapons to Minsk. The Russian leader indicated that it was the Belarusian leader who had long raised the issue of hosting tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
After more than a year of fighting, Lukashenko is now warning that a Ukrainian attack would make negotiations between Moscow and kyiv impossible. He says that Russia's plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on his country's territory are an opportunity to safeguard Belarus from Western threats: "This is not about intimidation or blackmail."
Lukashenko believes that the West is building its military forces in Poland, on the borders of Belarus, and was planning to invade and destroy it. He has accused the Polish authorities of trying to "double down" the capabilities of their Armed Forces as they prepare an attack on Belarus. "They are preparing to invade our territory and destroy the country," he pointed out before emphasizing that the Polish army will soon receive 366 Abrams tanks and other types of weapons and heavy vehicles.
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