Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko declared Thursday that his country will not be drawn into the war in Ukraine, but warned that it would defend itself alongside Russia in case of aggression, according to the Belarusian state news agency BELTA.
The Belarusian leader also said he was ready to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, who has suggested several times that Minsk could become more involved in the conflict.
Alexander Lukashenko made these comments during joint military exercises with Russia. Both leaders attended the rehearsals via video conference.
“Regarding the statements (by Volodymyr Zelensky) affirming that Belarus will be drawn into the war, as I said, this will happen only if aggression is committed on our territory,” he said, as quoted by BELTA.
Volodymyr Zelensky gathered Ukrainian leaders on Thursday in northern Ukraine, near the Belarusian border, to discuss strengthening the country’s defenses.
In his speech, the Ukrainian president stated that Russia “was ready to involve Belarus more deeply in this war.”
