MINSK, 8 April (BelTA) - The list of guarantor countries for Ukraine's security is being brought together, and Russia believes that Belarus should make part of it, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a press conference after the talks with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan on 8 April, TASS reports.
“At the request of the Ukrainian side, its neutral, non-bloc, non-nuclear status should be accompanied by security guarantees. Among the security guarantors Ukraine would like to see all the countries adjacent to it and a number of other states, including the permanent members of the Security Council and so on. We suggested that the Republic of Belarus should be among such countries, of course,” he said.
According to the minister, all these issues are now being agreed upon, including the full range of guarantor countries. “We are in favor of Belarus being among them,” the Russian foreign minister said.
BelTA reported earlier that during the Security Council session Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko stated that Belarus' position should be presented during the talks on a peaceful resolution in Ukraine and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been tasked with realizing this decision.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “There can be no negotiations without Belarus. Since you, primarily Western countries, got us into it, naturally Belarus' stance must be presented during these talks. We proceed from the fact that this war is just over the fence of our country. And it is most seriously affecting the situation in Belarus. This is why there can be no separate agreements behind Belarus' back.”
According to the president, Russia understands Belarus' position. “But it will run contrary to Western designs. But it doesn't mean we should dance to Western piping,” he added.
