Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko has opened up about what prompted his close ally and Russian President Vladimir Putin to go into war with Ukraine. Recalling the “complex causes” that led to the conflict, Lukashenko said it “all began with the oppression of the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine and Odessa,” where “people considered enemies by Ukrainians were burned alive”.
“This policy has been elevated to the highest rank in Ukraine,” the Belarusian leader stated, adding that America would have done the same. “If Mexico had treated pro-American-minded people living in the border region in the same way and forced them to speak Spanish instead of English, America would have literally wiped that country off the face of the earth. God forbid, of course. I'm simply citing this as an example," the head of state told US-based Newsmax.
Alexander Lukashenko said that if the Ukrainian authorities truly wanted to develop a language policy, they should have done so step by step, over many years. “But instead, they decided to simply shut the mouth of the Russian-speaking population.
"As an experienced politician, I tell you: if you live next to this sleeping bear, well, don't wake it up; find normal relations," Lukashenko said. "After all, I know this - I saw it, I participated in these negotiations - Russia reached an agreement with Ukraine on both Crimea and security issues. And the military bases in Crimea (which Ukraine didn't need) would be Russian. Russia supplied energy resources to Ukraine at half the world price. I saw this under Yeltsin and under Putin. There were normal relations," he said.
He said it was not necessary to organise, with the help of the US and Europe, the Euromaidan. They turned everything upside down, overthrew the President (Viktor Yanukovych) was forced to leave the country. Many such reasons can be named. And they will not be in Ukraine's favor," said Lukashenko.