Lukashenko: war in Ukraine began long before 2014, we saw who was behind it
The war in Ukraine began long before 2014 – as stated by the President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, to participants of the 52nd meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of Security Agencies and Special Services
The Head of State noted that the special military operation in Ukraine has inspired some parties in the CIS ‘to stagger’. Not everyone understood the reason, the key point of these events.
“I absolutely agree with President Putin when he says that it was not us who started that war. It began not even in 2014, it started long before that. We are located nearby, and we saw everything that was happening – [including] the ‘brown’ coup that took place. We saw what Ukraine was being taken to, who was in the lead. I always say it simpler for the people, using the example of Russia. Starting from 2014, all have been screaming – especially our so-called smart and your clever people – to protect Russians in Donbass. Well, we have protected – but what did those smart, clever ones do? Some ran away through the Lachin corridor, others tried to escape through Belarus. Happily, we have strict rules with Russia in this sphere. The leadership of Russia is now being condemned, but why are you condemning? You were ardent supporters of this operation just yesterday. Imagine if maltreatment of US citizens or Americans starts in Mexico. There would be no Mexico at all as result. This is a simple motivation for the people,” the President said.
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, there were many options for people in Ukraine to live peacefully, but neither the former nor the current leadership of the country took advantage of this. “Why haven’t they used it? Did they want war? No, they were just being pushed towards it. Pain points were found, where it was possible to put pressure,” he explained.
The Head of State stressed that if Russia had not started the special military operation in 2022, it would have started tomorrow – but under worse conditions for Russia and Belarus, “Everything was developing for this to happen. Our single mistake is that we did not solve this issue back in 2014-2015, when there was neither an army in Ukraine, nor readiness. Everyone wanted to settle it peacefully somehow. However, over that time, they have been creating combat-ready armed forces.”
Belarus’ President called on the CIS special services’ leadership to influence politicians inside their states so that, as the Belarusian leader said, ‘we do not go our separate ways’, “It is very dangerous. We are in need nowhere, except for the post-Soviet space that exists today. Why should this common market be broken?”
