27.09.2019, Minsk.
Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko expressed his readiness to deploy Belarusian peacekeepers to Donbass during his meeting with Ukrainian journalists on September 26, the BelTa information agency reports.
Lukashenko stated that Belarus is ready to assume control over 400 km of the Ukrainian-Russian border, which is currently not under control of the Kiev authorities.
“If you want us to close down the 400 km section of the border between Ukraine and Russia, which is now not under the Ukrainian authorities’ control, we can close it down. Though getting involved in this conflict is a big problem for me, we are ready to send peacekeepers, border-security forces, troops there, …, to close down this section of border, if there is an agreement of both parties,” Belarusian president stated.
Lukashenko stressed that he stands for a “united and indivisible Ukraine”. He admitted that he does not “feel any nuances” about the situation in Donbass after Vladimir Zelensky came to power in Ukraine, but he is still ready to intervene if Russia and Ukraine do not mind.
The Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov addressed to the Belarusian leader’s statement. He said that, first of all, the DPR and LPR leaderships’ attitude towards the Belarusian president’s initiative, as well as Kiev’s opinion on this issue, must become apparent. Until then, Peskov urged everyone to comply with the Minsk agreements.
“So far, we do not know their opinion. I want once again to turn to the Minsk agreements. Such a clause is absent in the Minsk agreements,” Dmitry Peskov said.
Earlier that day, Aleksandr Lukashenko stated that Ukraine has no reason to fear military invasion from the territory of Belarus.
“They (Ukrainian ex-President Pyotr Poroshenko and former Ukrainian Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Aleksandr Turchinov – Rossa Primavera News Agency’s comment) stated that Ukraine would be attacked from the territory of Belarus, and they would have to fight on two fronts. You know my stance: I jokingly said back then, you know, I will not come to Kiev by tank. If I arrive, I will come only by tractor. From the very beginning, we have chosen to adhere a peaceloving policy,” Lukashenko said.
In 2018, the Belarusian president stated that the conflict in Donbass cannot be solved without his country’s participation.
The head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, politely rejected Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s proposal to deploy peacekeeping forces to the Donbass region on September 26, Donetsk News Agency reports.
The Donetsk Republic’s leader justified his answer by the absence of the need for such assistance, since the military forces of the Donetsk Republic are capable of maintaining security in the region.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
