Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, days after reviving considerations that he might devote his army to Russian forces in Ukraine, warned he was opposed to cornering his great best friend, saying Russia has nuclear weapons for a reason.
In excerpts of an interview with U. S. broadcaster NBC that were published Friday through Belarus’ state news agency, Lukashenko said: “The most important thing is not to corner your interlocutor and even your opponent. So we will have to not cross the lines of some — the red lines of some, as the Russians say. You can’t go through them.
In weeks, fears have developed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will use nuclear weapons since a series of defeats through his forces in Ukraine tilted the war momentum in Kyiv’s favor.
“When it comes to nuclear weapons, any weapon is a weapon created for something,” said Lukashenko, who has held Belarus since 1994.
“Russia has made its position transparent: God forbid, there will be an attack on the territory of the Russian Federation; in this case, Russia can use all weapons if necessary,” he added.
Lukashenko has no say in the decisions of Putin’s military, but his comments served to underscore rising tensions as the war nears the end of its eighth month.
Last month, Putin unilaterally proclaimed 4 Ukrainian regions as part of Russia, a move overwhelmingly condemned this week by the United Nations General Assembly, and said he would protect Russia’s “territorial integrity” by all means, adding nuclear weapons if necessary.
Lukashenko said he had placed Belarus on what he called a higher “terrorist” state of alert because of tensions on its borders.
He connected the resolution to his announcement on Monday that he had ordered Belarusian troops to deploy with Russian forces near Belarus’ southern border with Ukraine.
Belarus is financially and politically dependent on its key ally, Russia. Last February, Lukashenko allowed Russia to use his country’s territory as one of the launching pads for its invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
His latest troop movements have raised fears in Kyiv and the West that Lukashenko is about to send Belarusian troops into Russia’s failed war effort.
Political analysts said it was an unattractive option for him but he could not possibly turn down if Putin demanded it.
The Russian president’s help helped Lukashenko launch mass pro-democracy protests in 2020. Lukashenko crushed the protests and all opposition figures were imprisoned or forced to flee abroad.
Lukashenko also claimed this week that Ukraine plans to attack Belarus and warned that it opposes aggression “even a meter of our territory with its dirty hands. “it is not necessary to fight” and stressing, however, a day later that the joint force intended defense.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded by saying his country is not making plans for the army to oppose Belarus and accused Russia of “trying to drag Belarus directly into this war. “