Ukraine conflict can be solved within one week if US and UK want, asserts Lukashenko

Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko, who is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, recently said that a solution to the Ukraine conflict can be found within a week, adding that it depends on the US and the UK. "It all depends on the US and the UK. If tomorrow you realize that we need to sit down at the negotiating table and find a solution, believe me, we will find a solution within a week," Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko said, as per reports from Russian State news agency TASS. Belarus is one of the four countries which opposed the United Nation General Assembly's resolution condemning Russia's annexation of four Ukrainian regions.

Lukashenko also recently added that Belarus faces threats from Ukraine and the West amid the ongoing war in eastern Europe, to counter which he is sending his nation's troops near the Belarus-Ukraine border. Belarus' troops are reportedly being accompanied by Russia troops. Belarus' recent actions near the border prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to claim that Moscow is trying to draw Belarus into the war. Responding to this, Lukashenko said, "No one asked us to get involved in this operation, not Russia in this case, and we do not intend to get involved."

Belarus' actions purely defensive, says Lukashenko 

On Saturday, the first batch of Russian forces arrived in Belarus, as per statements by Belarus' defence ministry. "The first convoys of Russian servicemen from the regional force group have arrived in Belarus. Their mission is exclusively to strengthen the protection and defence of the border," the defence ministry's statement said. 

Lukashenko had announced last week that Minsk will set up a joint force with Moscow as Ukraine is allegedly planning to attack Belarus. The Belarusian president claimed that Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine are training Belarusian radicals to carry out terrorist attacks in Belarus. He also added that these nations are planning to organise a military mutiny in Belarus, as per reports from the Moscow Times. Calling Minsk's actions defensive and that Belarus does not plan to kill anyone, he further stated: We are treating  Russians and Ukrainians, feeding Russians and Ukrainians and welcoming Ukrainian refugees."