Lukashenko, Macron discuss Europe future, Ukraine
2 Min Read
The Ukrainian issue and Belarus' stance on the situation there were put to the question by French President Emmanuel Macron in light of rising tensions on Moscow.
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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed several issues during a bilateral phone call that took place on Saturday night, the Belarusian press service reported.
The counterparts talked for about an hour 20 minutes, and all the questions focused on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Minsk's stance, and the country's involvement in the Ukrainian issue.
The two leaders also talked about the future of Europe and Minsk's role in the world order under the status quo. They also discussed Belarusian-Russian relations in light of soaring regional tensions.
Macron brought to the table weapons, particularly nuclear weapons, and the possibility they are deployed in Belarus.
Lukashenko noted that any talk of such an event was fake news, though he told his western counterpart that if the West was not "strangling" his nation, conventional weapons are out of the question, let alone nuclear weapons.
As part of discussions on negotiations between Moscow and Kiev, Alexander Lukashenko reiterated his stance that Belarus was ready to offer any place at any time for the talks.
Minsk noted that Macron, during the talks, stressed his respect for the former Soviet republic, and the two leaders agreed to hold contacts in the near future as well.
Russia has for months been warning of the threat posed against it by NATO's attempts to expand eastward, which happened simultaneously with an increase in NATO military activity along Russia's borders, and batches of lethal weapons being sent to Ukraine, prompting Russia to request security guarantees from the West. Washington failed to provide the guarantees.
After the West did not respond to Russia's demands, and amid Ukrainian shelling on the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, President Vladimir Putin initiated a special military operation in Donbass.
Moscow's ministry of foreign affairs informed the international community the operation in Ukraine was not the beginning of a war, but rather an attempt at curbing one after the west bombarded the situation with condemnations.
