Lukashenka believes that Kyiv “has no other way than to conclude a peace treaty [with the Russian Federation] now, without preconditions.”

“Now is a unique moment to stop the conflict in Ukraine before Russia puts the economy on a war footing.

Russia is ready today to make steps towards a peaceful settlement of the conflict. It has been doing so since the first days: two rounds of talks were held on peaceful settlement in Belarus, then they [the negotiators] left for Istanbul, and Kiev refused everything, although there was a settlement plan on the table. I believe that the West and the Americans pushed Kiev to not negotiate at all. Russia offered negotiations from day one. We were participants in this process; we organized it, and we saw it.”