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MOSCOW, 12 April (BelTA) – It is time for Ukrainians and the West to sit down at the negotiating table and come to an agreement, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko told reporters in the Kremlin, answering a question about the prospects for a peace deal in Ukraine, BelTA has learned.
“Yesterday [at the negotiations in the Kremlin] the president of Russia devoted half of his opening speech to peace talks, and you know how it should be interpreted in diplomacy. I believe that today is the time, primarily for Ukrainians and the West, to sit down at the negotiating table and finally come to an agreement. The principle is the following and Putin is right about it (he sticks to his previous statements): there are documents [previously agreed on during the peace talks in Belarus and Türkiye] that were initialed by both the Russian and Ukrainian sides. Let's return to these documents and proceed from them. Or let's stay on the principles that were laid out in those documents. Would it be wrong? It wouldn't,” said the Belarusian leader.
“Therefore, now is a very good moment for Ukraine and its curators to make a decision. It must be made. As I see it, the president of Russia is approaching it wisely. This is a litmus test. If you want negotiations, let’s do it, we are open, we are willing to negotiate. Here are the documents, let’s sit down at the table. One of the options is to stick to what is written in these documents. The other option is look for some compromises based on these documents. If Ukraine and the West do not respond, it means they simply do not want peace in Ukraine “The Russian side has framed it very well. I fully support it,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.
