A video of Lukashenko’s remarks posted by the Telegram channel Pul Pervogo shows him saying Belarus had received a response from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s envoys after they visited Minsk.
“By the way, we received an answer; the president [Zelenskyy] and they understand this. So come on, guys, let’s reach an agreement,” he told Gryzlov and Moscow Oblast governor Andrey Vorobyov.
Agentstvo.Novosti noted that quote was widely reported by Russian propaganda media, but Lukashenko went on to add that Belarus “doesn’t need to be drawn into the war.”
Addressing Gryzlov, he said: “And don’t push us here, that Boris Vyacheslavovich [Gryzlov] is organizing the process to draw us into the war.” The Belarusian state news agency BelTA said the comments were directed at Gryzlov; the Russian state news agency TASS did not include that quote in its coverage.
Agentstvo Novosti said Lukashenko’s remarks amounted to a confirmation of Kremlin efforts, through Gryzlov, to press Minsk to take a more active role in the conflict.
Lukashenko also said he has repeatedly discussed the issue with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and conveyed Minsk’s unwillingness to fight against Ukraine.
“How can we fight Ukrainians when on the other side it’s mostly territorial defense units? Are we going to shoot at farm machine operators, milkmaids, and workers who don’t want to fight Belarusians?” he said.
In Kyiv, President Zelenskyy has said Ukraine delivered
“necessary signals” to Belarus about construction of roads and ammunition depots
along the border and about Belarus’ cooperation with Russia, which he said
helps prolong the war. Kyiv has said it expects Minsk to take steps to
de-escalate.