Moscow and Kiev must eventually settle their differences through negotiations or the conflict will end in the total destruction of Ukraine, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said.
In an interview with the Russia-1 channel released on Sunday, Lukashenko urged the two countries to return to the peace talks that collapsed in the spring of 2022 after what Moscow has called Western interference.
“We must sit down at the negotiating table and discuss the issues. But if it goes on like in Kursk Region, this will be an escalation that would result in Ukraine’s destruction,” the Belarusian leader warned, referring to Kiev’s large-scale assault on internationally recognized Russian territory earlier this month.
Lukashenko noted that the belligerents could re-engage based on a proposal by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who suggested picking up where Moscow and Kiev left off last time.
“Yes, the situation on the ground has changed, but this [document] could be a start. A start for a discussion,” he said.
Last month, Putin recalled that the Istanbul deal, under which Ukraine would have agreed to “permanent neutrality” and to downsize its military while receiving certain security guarantees, “remains on the table and could serve as the basis” for a new round of peace talks.
Moscow has said that the talks were on the verge of a breakthrough but were derailed by then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who allegedly advised Kiev to “keep fighting.” Although Johnson has denied the accusation, staff who were close to Vladimir Zelensky admit he had an influential role.
While Russia has repeatedly said throughout the conflict that it is open to talks with Ukraine, Putin has recently said that any engagement with Ukraine is impossible as long as it is conducting attacks on civilians and threatening nuclear power plants – both of which Moscow has accused Kiev of doing during the Kursk incursion.
Zelensky admitted last month that Ukraine could open talks with the current Russian leadership, despite a still-active presidential decree signed in 2022 that forbids doing so. The decree was approved after four former Ukrainian regions voted overwhelmingly to join Russia.