Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko did not apologize to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about Minsk’s complicity in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Lukashenko’s press secretary claimed on Monday.
Natalya Eismont, Lukashenko’s press secretary, told RBC Russia that the alleged call took place but only because of the “emotional reaction of the youngest son of the Belarusian President Nikolai, who had Zelensky’s personal contact on his phone” when the full-scale invasion started in February 2022.
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“The President of Belarus did not apologize to Zelensky, for the simple reason that we have nothing to apologize for,” Eismont added.
Russia sent troops and missiles from Belarusian territories when it launched its full-scale invasion against Ukraine in 2022.
Eismont’s comment was made in response to Zelensky’s recent statements that Lukashenko had apologized for the war and suggested Kyiv hit Belarus’s Mozyr oil refinery in retaliation at the onset of Russia’s 2022 invasion.
During a podcast released on Sunday with US podcaster Lex Fridman, Zelensky said he had spoken with Lukashenko by phone shortly after the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, during which the latter reportedly had apologized for the troops and missiles launched from Belarus against Ukraine.
“He said that ‘it was not me, it was [Russian President Vladimir] Putin who launched missiles from my territory.’ These are his words. I have witnesses,” Zelensky told Fridman while recalling the early days of Russia’s 2022 invasion.
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Lukashenko himself also commented on Zelensky’s statements on Tuesday, claiming that Zelensky was “given orders” to drag Belarus into the war by making the statement.
“Why is Volodya Zelensky acting like this? We were fine with him, on good terms. And my little family too. What is he yapping about, what is he missing? He is being given orders. [They] must do everything [they] can to drag the country into war,” Lukashenko said at a local church during Orthodox Christmas, according to Belarusian state media BelTA.
Volodya is an endearing version of Zelensky’s first name, typically reserved for close acquaintances.
Lukashenko also acknowledged his regime being a dictatorship but said it would still be better than democracy in Ukraine.
“Listen, a dictatorship like the one in Belarus is better than a democracy like the one in Ukraine. We must endure this. We must not shy away under any circumstances,” the Belarusian leader added.
Ironically, he also boasted of not holding on to power by force during the same speech.
“I am not clinging to power. I will do everything to quietly and calmly hand over this power to the new generation... Therefore, it is a great advantage of mine that I am not trying to somehow hold on to power by force,” he said.
Lukashenko has been in office since 1994 and remains one of the longest-serving heads of state in Europe, whose political repressions and crackdown on democratic protests have earned him the moniker “the last dictator in Europe.”
Belarus is set to hold its upcoming presidential elections on Jan. 26.
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