Kyiv offered ‘non-aggression pact’ to Minsk, says Lukashenko

(Reuters) – Ukraine has offered a non-aggression pact to Belarus, President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday, quoted by Belta.

According to the official Belarusian news agency, Alexander Lukashenko revealed this information during a meeting with government officials and representatives of the security services.

“They ask us not to go to war with Ukraine, not to send our troops there. They propose that we conclude a non-aggression pact,” said the Belarusian president, quoted by Belta.

It has not yet been possible to independently establish whether such a proposal has been made, or by whom.

Asked about this, the Kremlin declined to comment.

At the same meeting, Alexander Lukashenko also accused Ukraine – without providing evidence – of allowing its territory to be used to train and arm militants who could destabilize his country.

He assured that Belarusian security forces would respond harshly to any threat and would not allow a repeat of the giant protests that destabilized his power in 2020.

There was no immediate response from Kyiv, where officials have said they fear Moscow is using Belarus as a launching pad for another attack on Ukraine from the north.

Minsk authorized Moscow to use Belarusian territory to send troops to Ukraine on February 24 last year. The Belarusian army, however, has not participated in the war so far, while intensifying joint military preparation with Russian forces deployed in Belarus.

(Andrew Osborn, French version Nicolas Delame and Lina Golovnya, editing by Kate Entringer and Tangi Salaün)