Alexander Lukashenko’s message to the people and parliament. Main

On March 31, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko addressed a message to the Belarusian people and parliament. The performance took place in Minsk, in the Palace of the Republic. The head of state outlined the theme of the message to preserve the independence and sovereignty of the republic, and also accused the West of preparing an invasion of Belarus and proposed to declare a truce in Ukraine.

In 2014, Russia was forced to take “extraordinary measures” and include Crimea into the country because of Kiev’s desire to join NATO and deploy the bloc’s military bases on Ukrainian territory, Lukashenko said. According to him, the events in the Donbass became a continuation of the “policy of the destruction of everything Russian.”

“The extermination of the Russian population, provocations against Russia and its leadership forced the President of the Russian Federation to take measures to protect the Russian people,” the Belarusian president said.

Lukashenka said that it was “very important for him to stop” this conflict, but the Ukrainian leadership rejected peace proposals.

The Belarusian leader also recalled the words of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande about the Minsk agreements.

“These were not negotiations, it was a cover, it was a deception, and the time gained was used by the West to militarize Ukraine and arm its army,” Lukashenka said.

According to him, from that moment preparations began “for a full-scale war with Russia.” Lukashenka recalled that at that time the Russian leadership demanded security guarantees from the West.

He added that he often had to discuss this topic “with certain influential circles in the West.” According to Lukashenko, they say Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal “was not serious.”

“I interrupt them and say:“ Guys, well, if it was a frivolous proposal and meaningless <...>Well, why didn’t you write these guarantees to him? – continued the Belarusian leader. – At the right time, you would, as usual, spit on these guarantees. But when the war dawned, why did you not provide at least these guarantees on paper? Silence”.

In his opinion, the conflicts of recent decades were caused by the desire of the West to “subjugate the whole world.” Commenting on the events in Ukraine, the President of Belarus said that the “massacre” would not stop until “the overseas master gives the go-ahead.” During the message, he called for an end to hostilities in Ukraine, as well as a ceasefire without the right to move and transfer military equipment from both sides.

“We need to stop now, before the escalation begins. I’ll try to risk suggesting a cessation of hostilities. <...> truce [надо] declare without the right to move and regroup troops on both sides, without the right to transfer weapons and ammunition, manpower and equipment. All. Dead. Freeze,” the politician stressed.

Continuing the theme of a possible escalation in Ukraine, Lukashenka said that “World War III loomed on the horizon. [война] with nuclear fires. He added that a nuclear power “is impossible to defeat” because in the event of a threat to sovereignty, Russia “will use the most terrible weapon.” The Belarusian leader stressed that such a situation should not be allowed.

“If the Russian leadership realizes that the situation threatens the collapse of Russia, the most terrible weapon will be used. This cannot be allowed,” he said.

Lukashenko recalled that in the 1990s. nuclear weapons were withdrawn from Belarus. According to the head of the republic, then he was subjected to pressure not only from the West, but from the Russian president. “I still remember, he says to me: “Well, you understand, they will crush, destroy, and you won’t be able to serve strategic warheads,” Lukashenka said.

Speaking about Russia’s plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus by July 1, the president of the republic noted that the military-political situation around Belarus forced the intensification of negotiations on the return of such weapons to the country. According to Lukashenka, the West is preparing an invasion of the territory of the republic.

“The formation of certain regiments, banners, legions for the subsequent coup in Belarus is in full swing. The time will come – we will lay it all out for you, ”he said.

In the course of his message to the people and the parliament of Belarus, Lukashenko announced the start of preparations for the 2024 election campaign. He stressed that he does not cling to power and wants “real democratization” of the republic.

“My age is ending, and I will not make any constitutions for myself,” the President of Belarus added.

Lukashenka said that the people of Belarus will decide for themselves who will become the new president of the republic, adding that he has already “ate”. The President noted that until the end of his term “he will work for the good of the country.”

He also ruled out the possibility of transferring power to his children. “We must stop all talk about heredity, about continuity. My children will not be presidents,” Lukashenka said.

Ukraine, unfortunately, will not consider Minsk as a platform for peace agreements, Svetlana Zhurova, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, told Vedomosti.

“Now a number of world politicians – perhaps the more there are, the better – offer mediation, participation in the process of peace negotiations, their platforms. AND [председатель КНР] Xi Jinping and [президент Турции Реджеп Тайип] Erdogan, and [президент Франции Эммануэль] Macron tried. The more there are, the greater the chance that [президент Украины Владимир] Zelensky will hear,” she said.

At the same time, according to Zhurova, the parameters of the truce will become a key factor in the negotiations – Russia will not agree to all the conditions put forward by Kyiv. At the same time, she does not believe that the OSCE or France and Germany could again become guarantors of the new “Minsk agreements”, as in 2014-2015. “After [их] admitting that the “Minsk agreements” were drawn up as a distraction, I don’t know how to trust them. Then only on our terms,” the deputy said.

Every politician who considers himself a friend of Russia offers some way out of the conflict in Ukraine – be it the Chinese or Belarusian leaders, said Leonid Kalashnikov, chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs. He also found it difficult to name potential guarantors of new agreements, since “no one trusts anyone.”

The head of the Center for Belarusian Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nikolai Mezhevich, believes that Lukashenka’s proposal for a truce format is “a forward” in order to see the reaction of Kiev, which, obviously, will not agree to it. “Today [такое] a truce is impossible – we saw photographs of European equipment, concentrated in herds to the east, and this is a signal, ”he told Vedomosti.