Western backers of Kiev may drop their demand of victory in the Ukraine conflict, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed on Tuesday.
Speaking at a security forum in Minsk, Lukashenko said he perceives “some drift” on the issue after recent contacts with “smart representatives” of the West. The US and its allies previously pledged to stand with Ukraine “for as long as it takes” to prevail.
“The West has finally realized, as far as I can tell, that it has to make a deal on Ukraine. Using sports language, a draw is possible, if [negotiated] today,” the Belarusian leader explained.
Kiev’s sponsors keep sending arms and aid because they want to save face and avoid a public humiliation as they endured owing to the withdrawal from Afghanistan, Lukashenko claimed. The US-led international coalition left Afghanistan in chaotic fashion in 2011 just after the West-backed government in Kabul collapsed and the militant Taliban seized power.
Lukashenko accused Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky of being the sole roadblock to diplomacy, stating that his personal ambitions and refusal to acknowledge reality are the problem.
Zelensky has rejected making compromises with Russia. Earlier in October, he presented a so-called ‘victory plan’ in the conflict that requires an increase in Western support and greater involvement of Kiev’s backers in the military sphere.
“Ukraine will not prevail on the battlefield. The Ukrainians realize this now, thank God, and so does the West,” Lukashenko argued. The hostilities must be stopped, he added because “every day thousands of innocent people are dying on both sides.”
The Ukrainian military is sensible and seeks an end “to this slaughter,” he stated, while Zelensky’s team wants an escalation and NATO’s direct involvement. He urged the West to stop calling Russia the sole culprit in the crisis and focus on de-escalating it instead.
The Belarusian president was addressing the 2nd Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security. Some 600 people from 45 nations are taking part in the event, according to organizers.