Belarus Leader Says Moscow Offers Kiev Absolutely Acceptable Version of Treaty

"If Zelensky refused to sign this treaty, then, he will have to sign an act of capitulation in a short while," Alexander Lukashenko said

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko Sergei Sheleg/BELTA/TASS

© Sergei Sheleg/BELTA/TASS

MINSK, March 17./TASS/. Russia offers Ukraine an absolutely acceptable option for a treaty, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with Japanese TBS TV channel, cited in part by BelTA news agency.

"Russia offers Ukraine an absolutely acceptable version of a treaty, I know this for sure. And it is still possible now to see Ukraine and Russia agree and [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky sign this treaty with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin," the Belarusian leader said.

"If Zelensky refused to do this, then, believe me, he will have to sign an act of capitulation in a short while," BelTA quoted Lukashenko as saying in the interview.

Russia "will not lose this war," he believes. "And you are also 100% sure it won’t. Japan knows better than I do how the war end in case one of the sides wins," he stressed. Lukashenko also said that he expected the special operation in Ukraine would end soon and peace would be achieved. "I am confident that this conflict - the operation of Russia - will end with peace shortly," the Belarusian president stressed.

The West won’t be able to draw Belarus into the conflict on Ukrainian soil, President Lukashenko said in the interview.

"I am practically convinced that we won’t have to fight with Ukraine. The West won’t be able to drag us into this conflict," BelTA News Agency quoted Lukashenko as saying. According to him, the Belarusian authorities "are smart enough not to be drawn into the conflict that the Americans together with their partners are pushing us towards".

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin in response to the appeal of the leaders of the republics of Donbass, decided to conduct a special military operation. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow's plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories. The goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The Russian Defense Ministry reassured that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgically striking and incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure. There are no threats whatsoever to the civilian population.