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Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko has said his army will not take part in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, apparently ruling out Kiev's fears that Moscow was pressuring Minsk to join its war effort.
Lukashenko told an audience of senior officers and military graduates on Monday that Belarus would not send troops to fight in Ukraine, where Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion has continued for more than four years.
"I emphasize once again, dear comrades, that no one will send you to this massacre. We do not need war, it is a pity that war is taking place in Ukraine. We are supporters of a peaceful resolution of issues ," Lukashenko said, according to his website.
Lukashenko allowed Putin to use Belarus as a launching pad for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Russia has since deployed nuclear warheads and advanced missiles there. But the Belarusian leader refrained from sending his forces to fight, instead waiting for initial peace talks in the early weeks of the war.
His comments on Monday came after a highly unusual two-day meeting with Putin at the Russian leader's main residence, after which he flew directly to Beijing for a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The diplomatic maneuvers reflect the increasingly difficult position Belarus finds itself in as Putin's war efforts falter and Ukraine steps up its long-range attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.
Russia's closest ally, Belarus, has also assisted Moscow by exporting record amounts of fuel to help combat widespread shortages caused by strikes.
Lukashenko has also tried to repair relations with the West since US President Donald Trump returned to office last year. Minsk released hundreds of political prisoners in exchange for a partial lifting of sanctions against Belarus.
The first signs of visible pressure began late last month when Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, threatened "extremely dangerous consequences" for Belarus if it did not shut down four broadcasting stations that he said were being used to guide Russian drones.
Belarus shut down the broadcasting stations three days later, a move that preceded an unusual flurry of diplomatic activity for Lukashenko. The mustachioed collective farm leader, who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist since 1994, later alluded to pressure to fight the war in a meeting with Russian officials.
"There is no need to push us to get involved in the war. Our position is peaceful ," Lukashenko said.
Lukashenko also said he had recently met with Ukrainian officials and told them that "the quality of the war will change immediately" if Belarus "gets involved" in it.
A few days later, Lukashenko flew to Russia for a two-day meeting at Valdai Lake, the Russian president’s main northern residence. In a departure from usual protocol, state media in both countries did not publicize the meeting until after it had ended. The Kremlin said Putin and Lukashenko discussed Ukraine, but gave no further details about the Belarusian leader’s behind-the-scenes role.
Lukashenko then flew to China, where Xi told him that Beijing supports Minsk's efforts to uphold its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. China also called for the resumption of stalled peace talks that same day.
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