Asked by the American news agency AP, the President of Belarus spoke about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Ally of Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko did not question the merits of the invasion of Ukraine, which he also describes as a “special operation” and not a war. According to him, Ukraine was “provoking Russia”.
However, the authoritarian ruler seemed to have reservations about the course of military operations.
“To be honest, I didn’t think this operation would drag on like this. But I’m not immersed enough in this problem to say if it’s going as planned, as the Russians say, or as I feel it, “he told AP.
Use of nuclear weapons ‘unacceptable’
“I want to emphasize once again: I have the impression that this operation dragged on,” he added.
The Belarusian president also spoke about the potential use of nuclear weapons. “The use of nuclear weapons is unacceptable because it would happen close to home. We are here, we are not behind an ocean like the United States. It is unacceptable for this reason but also because it could tear the Earth out of its orbit, ”he explained.
During this interview, the president of this neighboring country of Russia also declared that Vladimir Putin did not want the conflict to degenerate into a “global confrontation” with NATO.