Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says his close ally Russia has achieved its goals in Ukraine “so far” and he doubts Moscow will return Crimea, an annexed territory by Russia, to Ukraine.
He conveyed this in an online interview with Diana Panchenko, a pro-Russian Ukrainian journalist, which was released on Thursday (17/8).
Lukashenko said he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin has achieved his goals in what Russia calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine. He also said both sides should sit down at the negotiating table and be ready to discuss all issues, including the future of Crimea and other Ukrainian territories claimed by Moscow.
“Its (Russia’s) goals have been fulfilled so far. Ukraine will never behave so aggressively towards Russia after this war is over, as it did before the war,” Lukashenko said.
He also claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had stopped talks between his country and Belarus. (rd/hr)
