Alexander Lukashenko, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, has claimed that someone is ordering Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to drag Belarus into war.

Source: Lukashenko, quoted by Belarusian state-owned news outlet BelTA

Quote: "Why is Volodymyr Zelenskyy acting like this? We were on good terms with him, in good relations. So was my little family. What does he want out of this? He is given an order. Is it necessary to do everything possible to drag the country into war?"

Details: Lukashenko stressed that he would do everything to preserve peace in the country, because, as he said, if Belarus is dragged into a war, it "may not be able to withstand it as a state".

Quote:"If we are dragged into a war, this would be a tough situation. We may not survive as a state. So I do everything patiently, persistently, as the Lord and the church teach us. We are doing our job. Time will rebuild everything. Time will evaluate everything. But we have to stand up. They may say that we have a dictatorship or something else. Listen, I would rather have a dictatorship like in Belarus than a democracy like in Ukraine."

Background:

• On 5 January, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed in an interview with American podcaster Lex Fridman that on the second or third day of Russia's full-scale invasion, Lukashenko apologised in a phone call for the missile strikes being launched on Ukraine from Belarusian territory and even suggested that Ukraine retaliate by striking the Mozyr Oil Refinery in Belarus.
• On 6 January, Natalia Eismont, the spokesperson for self-proclaimed Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, denied that Lukashenko apologised to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a telephone conversation that took place during the first few days of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
• Eismont confirmed that a conversation with Zelenskyy did take place in the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion. She said it occurred "solely due to the emotional reaction of Lukashenko's youngest son Nikolai, who had Zelenskyy as a personal contact in his phone".

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