Three-day state visit
China wants to work with Lukashenko
02/25/2023 10:38 am
The Belarusian ruler visited the People’s Republic for several days – just a few days after China called for a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. Both states have supported Russia since the beginning of its attack. Now they plan to cooperate.
According to Chinese information, the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko will travel to China on a state visit on Tuesday. “Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko will be on a state visit to China from February 28 to March 2 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said in a phone conversation with his Belarusian counterpart Sergei Aleinik on Friday that China is ready to work with Belarus to deepen mutual political trust, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. According to Qin, China also wants to continue to support Belarus in maintaining its own national stability and defending itself against attempts by “external forces” to interfere in internal affairs or to impose “illegal” unilateral sanctions on Minsk.
Lukashenko is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin – Belarus is financially and politically heavily dependent on neighboring Russia. He also has good relations with China: in September, Xi and Lukashenko announced an “all-weather strategic” partnership at a meeting in the Uzbek city of Samarkand.
side by side with Putin
On the anniversary of the start of the war, China presented a twelve-point plan for a “political settlement” of the conflict. Russia and Ukraine should “resume direct dialogue as soon as possible,” it said. The Russian Foreign Ministry expressly welcomed Beijing’s initiative and at the same time reaffirmed its own position in favor of ending the hostilities. Russia is open to a political-diplomatic solution to the “Ukraine crisis”. The basic prerequisite, however, is an end to Western arms deliveries to Ukraine, the cessation of all hostilities and the return of Ukraine to a neutral, non-aligned status. In addition, the “new territorial realities” – that is, the illegal annexation of several Ukrainian territories by Russia – must be recognized.
Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China has always backed the Russian president, describing the US and NATO as the real culprits of the “crisis”. Lukashenko last year allowed Putin to launch Russian attacks on Ukraine from Belarusian territory. In recent months, fears have grown that Belarus could enter the war and fight alongside Moscow.