The first step in resolving the conflict between Russia and Ukraine should be negotiating. This was stated on October 22 by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko in an interview with BBC journalist Steven Rosenberg on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan.
"If you want (I mean the West), this peace can be established. You may ask what needs to be done for this. A lot needs to be done, but at the negotiating table. The first step should be negotiations. We need to sit down at the negotiating table and traditionally, as life has already worked out, define an action plan and negotiate peace," he said.
Under Lukashenka, he believes that there is no time to figure out who is to blame for what happened. Otherwise, according to him, the parties will never come to peace.
"Communicating with representatives of the West, intelligent people, we came to a common opinion: if a war, conflict or fight has started, then both sides are to blame. Maybe someone more, someone less… When the conflict started, I had a conversation with Volodya Zelensky. He started exactly like you, attacked and so on. I say: "Vladimir, the war is going on on your land, on your territory. Right?" — "So" — "You are most interested in this. As for who attacked whom, let's dive into the reasons. We understand Russia's guilt, right? And I will tell you one fact that I always mention (it is emotional, but nevertheless important): at one time in The House of Trade Unions in Odessa burned several dozen people. Why? They hammered and bombed this Donbass, where the Russian-speaking population lived. Why was it necessary to rot them? Why this Russian language was eradicated and so on, so on, so on. And there was a movement that covered Vladimir Putin in a wave: to protect, kill, crush and so on. Putin has protected his people," he stressed.
In addition, Lukashenko said that Minsk and Moscow have developed a common position: negotiations are needed to establish peace in the region. He recalled that in Istanbul, Russia and Ukraine could have come to an agreement, but the West thwarted these agreements.
"I've seen them: they don't oblige anyone to much. You can start with this, they are of a general nature. We immediately sat down at the negotiating table — we can talk about a cease-fire, and then about the divorce of the armed forces. But this should be decided at the table. We need guarantees for Russia, so that, having established a truce, you (the West — EADaily) do not start driving to Ukraine ammunition and rearm the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This should not be. Putin fears this," the Belarusian leader noted.
Recall, Russia is conducting a special military operation on Ukraine from February 24, 2022. Belarus does not officially take part in it, but supports Moscow's actions. Minsk supports the cessation of hostilities and the start of negotiations.