Only they can maintain “normal relations” between Moscow and Kiev, the Belarusian president said
The Belarusian military is best suited for peacekeeping duties in Ukraine, President Aleksandr Lukashenko told journalists on Sunday. Other nations could attempt to use the mandate to their own advantage, he argued at a press conference in Minsk.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky said earlier that at least 200,000 “European peacekeepers” would be needed to uphold a potential ceasefire with Russia.
Lukashenko claimed that Belarusians would be a great fit for the task. “If [it would come to that] in the name of trust and fairness, they don’t have anyone except the Belarusian army,” the president said.
“It doesn’t mean that I would deploy my army – 70,000 men – as peacekeepers,” Lukashenko said. “But there are no other [options]. All the rest will tilt the [the situation] towards the West or the East. That is why they can only agree to Belarusian peacekeepers.”
Only Belarusians are capable of “securing normal relations” between Russia and Ukraine, Lukashenko claimed. He stressed, however, that he had no immediate plans of donating forces for a peacekeeping mission.
Lukashenko acknowledged that, if a peacekeeping force was sent to Ukraine, there would be “serious debates” about its composition, and it would be unlikely that Ukraine and its Western backers would agree to the participation of Belarus.
According to media reports, France and the UK were considering sending peacekeepers in case a ceasefire was reached. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said earlier this month that he had “no doubt” that his country would donate troops.
In December, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that a peacekeeping mission could be discussed if negotiations are resumed. Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service has warned that the West could use peacekeepers to “occupy” Ukraine and buy time for a new conflict with Russia.
Lukashenko was reelected for his seventh term in office on Sunday, receiving more than 80% of the votes, according to the Electoral Commission.
