Belarus ready to take part in negotiations to resolve Russia-Ukraine war: Makei

Belarus is ready to take part in the negotiations process to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war, Belarus Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said on Saturday. So far, three rounds of talks have been held between Moscow and Kyiv, which have not made much headway, apart from the announcement of brief ceasefires and the establishment of humanitarian corridors.

The statement comes a day after the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met President of Russia Vladimir Putin on Friday, March 11. Both leaders have discussed the strict sanctions imposed on Belarus and Russia by the United States and other Western allies.

Belarus has been a target of hard-hitting sanctions by the West, blaming the Moscow ally for helping Russia in the Ukrainian invasion. The 27-member EU bloc has dubbed Lukashenko as a ‘co-aggressor’ in the war started by Russia.

During the meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly said to his counterpart that there had been ‘some progress’ in Moscow’s talks with Ukraine where ‘positive shifts’ had been noted.

As per the official statement released by the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin said, “I am sure that we will get through these difficulties and acquire more competencies, more opportunities to feel independent, self-sufficient, and ultimately benefit, as it was in previous years.”

Earlier, the President of Belarus has claimed that if Russia had not launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Ukraine would have attacked Belarus the same day. He also went on to allege that foreign mercenaries were moving along the Belarusian border to the Chernobyl nuclear plant.