MINSK, 25 February (BelTA) - Belarus rejects the insinuations about its involvement in the events in Ukraine, Belarus' permanent representative to the OSCE Andrei Dapkiunas said at the reinforced meeting of the organization's Permanent Council, BelTA has learned.
“Belarus does not need war. We have exhausted our limit of wars over our country's long and complicated history. Therefore, we categorically reject any insinuations concerning Belarus' involvement in the events in Ukraine,” said the diplomat.
In his words, the Belarusian head of state emphasized that Belarusian troops were not participating in the Russian special operation in Donbass. “Moreover, the president specifically clarified that the Russian leadership had never raised such a question. We tried in every way to prevent escalation. In particular, the military leadership of Ukraine held a number of talks with their Belarusian counterparts,” Andrei Dapkiunas said.
The last such conversation took place after the meeting of the presidents of Belarus and Russia in Moscow. The Ukrainian side was notified about the details of the talks between the two heads of state. “We suggested that our Ukrainian colleagues establish direct contact with the Russian side and were ready to provide appropriate assistance, but our offer was ignored. We regret that all opportunities to prevent this conflict were not used,” the Belarusian diplomat said.
He also stressed that Belarus has always actively and consistently advocated a peaceful settlement of the conflict in the southeast of Ukraine. “We still consider diplomatic methods as a priority and are ready to contribute to this process in every possible way,” said Andrei Dapkiunas.
He also expressed regret over Ukraine breaking off diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation.
