MINSK, 5 March (BelTA) - Ukraine started an economic war with Belarus earlier than the West did, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said in an interview with U.S. blogger Mario Nawfal, BelTA learned.
“People often ask me if I knew three years ago that this war would start in February. No, I did not. But if I had known, I would not have defended Ukraine back then. Because at that moment, we were already in a state of an economic war with Ukraine,” the Belarusian leader said.
The president recalled that Ukraine imposed sanctions against Belarus earlier than the United States and Western Europe did. “They arrested thousands of our freight rail cars with goods, which have not been returned to this day. They also arrested about a thousand trucks and 75 Belarusian drivers who drove these vehicles. I had to order a special operation to get them out. Three of them were killed, and their bodies were mutilated so that we could not understand what happened,” he stated. “So why should I have defended Ukraine? Ukraine escalated relations with Belarus earlier than the Americans and the entire West did.”
“Therefore, there is nothing to blame us for. Nevertheless, we stood for peace, not war. That was our position. And I emphasize once again, in the early days of the war I called Zelensky and told him all of this,” the head of state added.
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