Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said today that Russia's war in Ukraine could end in a “draw”, DPA reported.
„Ukraine will not win on the battlefield. Ukrainians and the West realize this. So you have to act, you have to come to an agreement, Lukashenko said at a security conference in Minsk.
„If this is done immediately, a draw can be reached. I'm using sports language here," he added.
Lukashenko, who is an ally of Russia, did not specify how such a solution could be reached, but mentioned the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations that took place shortly after the war began in 2022, DPA noted.
Moscow is presenting the 2022 talks as if an agreement was almost reached, claiming that Ukraine has agreed to neutral status.
However, this would limit Ukraine's defense capabilities against Russia, and the issue of territories occupied by Russia would remain unresolved, DPA points out.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov echoed Lukashenko's words, but said the compromise was unacceptable. A draw will not adequately protect the interests of all parties involved, he said in Minsk.
Russia seized and annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it has claimed control of four other areas in southeastern Ukraine, DPA noted.
Given the continued advance of Russian forces, Russia claims it can achieve its goals, which include Ukraine relinquishing its sovereignty over these four areas, withdrawing from NATO membership and being “non-Nazified”.
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The latter definition, used by Moscow, seems to imply the coming to power in Kiev of a government that suits Russia's interests.
However, the authorities in Kiev express determination to take back all territories occupied by Russia, including Crimea, DPA states.