Alexander Lukashenko says there are prerequisites for peace negotiations in Ukraine and warns that Russia could cause “an apocalypse”

The president of Belarus believes that Russia and Ukraine could start peace negotiations, but at the same time sees the prospect of an “apocalypse” if Moscow uses its nuclear weapons, writes Reuters.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday that he sees a stalemate on the Ukrainian front line and that this means that the necessary conditions are in place for the start of peace negotiations, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

Lukashenko said preliminary texts discussed between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey in the first weeks of the war could serve as a starting point for negotiations.

TASS also quoted Lukashenko, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, as saying that if Russia were to use nuclear weapons in retaliation for Western actions, there could be an “apocalypse”.

Russia itself has repeatedly warned that Western support for Ukraine could lead to a nuclear conflict.

Lukashenko also said the risk of military incidents along his country’s border with Ukraine is quite high, according to Russian state news agency RIA.

He assured that neighboring Poland should not expect aggressive actions from Belarus.

The Minsk-based leader, however, said Belarus had moved several combat-ready battalions from the Vitebsk region, located on its border with Russia, to the country’s western borders.

Russia rejects peace negotiations in the Ukrainian version

While Lukashenko sees premises for peace in Ukraine, Moscow and Kiev are far from a possible agreement.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that any discussion on ending the conflict in Ukraine is useless without Russia’s participation, referring to a conference Switzerland plans to host in June.

Zakharova also said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s peace formula – which calls for the complete withdrawal of Russian forces from all the territory they have captured – does not bring peace closer, but prolongs the conflict.

Switzerland announced earlier this month that it would host a two-day high-level conference on June 15-16 on peace in Ukraine. Russia has said it will not participate, and the Kremlin has said the idea of ​​holding peace talks without Moscow is ridiculous.

Threats to the West

All the while, Moscow persisted with threats to the West, especially in the context of the recent statement of the Polish Prime Minister, who said that Poland is ready to host nuclear weapons.

Russia will make NATO nuclear weapons in Poland one of its main targets if they are deployed there, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency on Thursday.

“…Moves in this direction will not provide greater security (for Poland or other nations hosting such weapons),” Riabkov said.